


Miscalculation

by sailorspazz



Category: Dragon Ball
Genre: F/M, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2007-06-07
Updated: 2014-06-20
Packaged: 2018-09-08 06:14:02
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 51,282
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8833528
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sailorspazz/pseuds/sailorspazz
Summary: After breaking up with Yamcha, Bulma is determined to prove that she has moved on with her life. However, she ends up getting a lot more than she bargained for when she gets Vegeta involved. VegetaxBulma pairing.





	1. Division

Could it possibly be possible? Could it truly be true? Yes, I'm writing another fanfic. It's been a couple of years, so I might be a bit rusty at this, but I'll give it my best shot ^_^ And, shock of all shocks, it's not yaoi! I've made the incomprehensible choice of writing about a heterosexual relationship, which is all I have experience with, rather than spinning tales of hot guys getting it on with each other, which I could never experience…fancy that :P

So, what's the story behind this fic? Well, I'm a long time Dragon Ball fan (since about 1997), and ever since I heard that Vegeta and Bulma got together, I wondered what happened to start that relationship off, since it was so random and mostly unexplained (Future Trunks said Bulma was pissed at Yamcha for cheating on her, Vegeta was lonely and "something happened." Toriyama expects shippers to be satisfied with _that_? I don't think so!). I came up with a vague idea of my own version around the year 2001 or so, and it's been percolating in my mind ever since, with bits and pieces gradually being added and fleshed out. Now I feel I've just got to get it out there before I get sick of thinking about it :P I know there're already five bazillion stories out there about how Bulma and Vegeta ended up conceiving Trunks, but I hope my version will be entertaining enough to stand out. Enjoy!

Chapter completed: 2007.06.07

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

_Chapter 1: Division_

"Who is she?" Bulma asked quietly as she took a bite of her salad.

Yamcha gave her a blank stare over the dim, candle lit table. "Who is _who_?"

"The girl you've been seeing."

He nearly choked on his mouthful of steak. "What? What makes you think I'm—"

"Don't…" Bulma cut him off, "Please, don't play dumb with me. We've been together how long? I can read you like an open book. You only suggest going to a fancy restaurant like this if it's either a special occasion, or you've done something wrong. So unless there's some special anniversary or holiday today that I'm not aware of, you must have done something you're feeling guilty about."

Yamcha placed his elbows on the table, seeming to try to hide his face behind clasped hands. "Bulma…I'm sorry."

"You're always sorry. What's your excuse this time?"

Even with his hands covering his face he could still feel her glare boring into him. He shook his head. "There's no excuse. I was just stupid. I won't ask you to forgive me, but if you can, I promise I'll never—"

"Don't make promises you can't keep. You've sworn you'd stay faithful before, and this isn't the first time you've broken that promise. So don't waste your breath, because I know you won't change."

He dropped his hands to look at her and was surprised to see that her expression was quite solemn and serious rather than the fiery anger he usually saw from her when they fought. Maybe she didn't want to cause a scene because they were in public. "Fine. You're right, I can't promise anything."

"Don't you think there's something wrong with that? After sixteen years, you can't promise me anything? After sixteen years, you still chase after other girls? After sixteen years, we still don't know where the hell this relationship is going? Are we going to get married? Have kids? What's the point of all this?"

Yamcha looked down at the table, not wanting to meet her eyes. "I…I don't know. What do _you_ want from this?"

"I don't know, either. And that's the problem."

There was a long silence following her sobering statement. Yamcha raised his head to look at her once more. "No one knows what'll happen in the future. Maybe we'll get married, maybe we won't. I thought we were okay with just staying together and seeing where things went."

"But we _haven't_ really stayed together. Everything's fine when times are good, but when things get rough, we blow up at each other and break up. Once we've calmed down, we always patch things up and get back together again. That's not a good cycle to keep going through. If we're considering spending our lives together, we need to be there for each other through the good _and_ the bad, but we've proven we can't do that. We can't say that we'll still be there for each other one, or five, or ten years down the road."

"We've been together for so long already, we could easily stay together for many years to come."

"We _could_ , but that doesn't mean we _should_. I think…I think we should let it end, before we end up hating each other."

Yamcha looked alarmed. This was very different from the breakup threats she had issued in the past. Her words were calm and calculated, not thoughtlessly screamed during a passionate argument. He was afraid she might be serious. Yamcha grabbed her hand across the table. "Bulma, I love you. I could never hate you. Maybe we don't have the best relationship in the world, but I still think it's worth saving."

"I don't. Goodbye, Yamcha." She yanked her hand away from his and got up from the table.

"Bulma, wait!" He jumped up from his seat and started to go after her. The other restaurant patrons couldn't help but notice the scene going on between them now, but he didn't care. He couldn't let her go. "Come on, we can talk about this! Just sit down and—"

"Don't come back to Capsule Corp. tonight. You still have that apartment, right? I'll have your things sent to you." She swiftly exited the restaurant, leaving a bewildered Yamcha standing slack-jawed next to the table.

He grabbed a fork from their table and threw it to the floor. "Dammit!" The other diners gawked as the fork sliced cleanly through the floorboards. He flopped down into his chair, wondering what he should do. This wasn't right. After all the time they had spent together, it couldn't be over just like that. Sixteen years couldn't be undone with one conversation. He didn't blame her for being angry with him, but he was still shocked that she would break up with him so harshly, so definitively. _How do I fix this?_

He definitely wasn't going to follow her home; she would kick him out for sure. It would probably be wise to not contact her for a few days. _Maybe I shouldn't call her at all…I'll just wait for_ her _to call_ me. That would be the best way to avoid upsetting her before she had the chance to cool down. She would come back on her own terms, Yamcha would apologize some more, and everything would be fine again. That was how it always was between them. _She'll come back to me. I_ know _she will._

As Bulma drove her air car away from the restaurant, so many emotions were jumbling around in her head that she was left feeling numb. She didn't know whether she should cry, scream, laugh, or let out some manic combination of all three. She had just broken up with the man she'd spent half her life with; how was she supposed to react? After a brief struggle, the tears won out. It had been difficult. She had tried to make the breakup quick and painless, but after so many years together there was no way it wasn't going to hurt. Despite their problems, she still loved him. However, love wasn't enough to sustain a relationship completely lacking in trust and reliability. She had found herself beginning to resent him for their problems, and that was her cue that things needed to end. Yamcha's indiscretions had merely acted as a catalyst for what Bulma saw as the inevitable end to their relationship.

Now she had a new problem on her hands. Though Bulma may have seen the end signs of their coupling, she was sure Yamcha had not; his reaction to their division had shown her as much. Now the issue was how to let her _ex_ -boyfriend know that she intended to keep him that way. Even if he had realized she was serious, he was surely in denial. She was certain he was already plotting ways to win her back. Moreover, she was afraid, there was a part of her that _wanted_ to be won over again. Logically, she didn't want to go back to him, but she had a feeling that if he used his charms just right he would be able to pull her back into the roller coaster ride of a relationship they had shared. She didn't want to give him the opportunity. But how could she prove to him that she wanted to move on?

 _How can I make him not_ want _me back?_

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

 _I must surpass him. I must surpass him._ Vegeta sent punches and kicks flying into the air. Though there was no visible opponent he was sparring with, in his mind there was a particular person on the receiving end of his blows.

 _Kakarrot…Damn you._ The Saiyan prince made his way over to the control console for the gravity machine and raised the level from 250G to 300G. It disgusted him to think of how Gokuu had achieved Super Saiyan after training in 100 times Earth's gravity for six days, and yet after a year and a half of training at three times that level, Vegeta was yet to reach his goal. Granted, there was more to achieving the transformation than just the amount of training one had undergone. However, if Gokuu had been able to do it, then surely Vegeta must also be capable of attaining that level of power. He _had_ to.

All his life, Vegeta had strived to become the strongest. As the prince of the Saiyans, he believed it was his birthright to be the most powerful being of his race, if not the entire universe. He had realized early on that his strength did not exceed individuals such as Freeza, but he knew that his power was always growing and would eventually surpass all beings of all races. The fact that he now found himself outclassed by a low-level Saiyan was unbearably frustrating and infuriating. Someone whom for most of his life did not even know of his Saiyan heritage had achieved the legendary power that had not been seen for a thousand years. And that kid from the future…from the looks of him, he wasn't even a pure Saiyan, yet at only half Vegeta's age, he had accomplished a level of power that Vegeta had been unable to reach during his lifetime of arduous battles. _It's not right._

Vegeta activated machinery that would toss energy balls around the room to simulate the attacks of an opponent. He flew up into the air and began dodging and weaving throughout the room. He was hit by the energy balls a couple of times, but he didn't stop. He had always taken pride in his laser-like focus on realizing his full potential. Ever since he was young, he had seen those around him hindered by distractions that prevented them from achieving true greatness. Seeing Nappa get drunk off his ass and Raditz trying to get laid in lieu of concentrating on increasing their power made Vegeta decide from a young age that he would abstain from alcohol, drugs, and sex to ensure that he would never allow such disturbances to distract him from his purpose. He had essentially taken a vow of chastity, though not for any of the usual moral reasons.

There were occasions when there were temptations to break his vows: many times when he was about to wipe out the native inhabitants of a planet, the officials from that world would offer him their virgin daughters in exchange for the safety of their people. Of course, he would never fall for such a ploy, instead choosing to kill the daughters straight away before proceeding to eradicate every last being on the planet. When he compared the temporary pleasures of giving in to his desires against the possibility of becoming the most powerful being the universe had ever seen, the choice was clear. It simply wasn't worth it.

Vegeta continued training for several more hours until he was completely exhausted. Needing to replenish his energy, he headed to the kitchen to get a snack—of course, a snack for a Saiyan was about the size of a seven course dinner for five Earthlings. As he waited for his food to finish cooking, a dejected looking Bulma entered the dining area. She looked over Vegeta's body and sighed. "Would it kill you to bandage up your injuries, or is bleeding all over my kitchen a necessary part of your training?"

Vegeta looked down at his body. There were a couple of open wounds on his arms and legs, but nothing severe enough for him to have even noticed. "These are nothing. And a couple drops of blood here and there are hardly anything to get worked up over. Just have one of your robot maids clean it up."

He expected her to start yelling at him, but was surprised to see her silently grab a paper towel and start wiping his blood off the floor. Once finished, she stood up and began to leave the room. "I'm going to get the first aid kit. Try not to touch anything until I get back." Vegeta was a bit puzzled at her unusually dispirited behavior, but decided to pay it no mind as he sat down to devour his meal.

When Bulma returned, she came over to the table and began bandaging Vegeta's arms as he ate. He was slightly irritated at this, but since it didn't interfere much with his eating, he made no attempt to stop her.

"Scoot your chair out so I can take care of your legs."

The prince glared at her. "Don't order me around, woman."

She matched his glare with an icy stare of her own. "Just do it."

Vegeta was so surprised at how fearlessly she defied him that he complied with her demand. He winced as she roughly wrapped bandages around his legs, but she didn't seem to be in any mood for him to make a snippy comment, so he continued eating wordlessly.

Bulma knew she was being a bit rough on Vegeta, but she had just come home from breaking up with Yamcha and felt the need to get out a little aggression. She had quickly passed on to the anger stage of grieving for her relationship, and Vegeta was the perfect recipient for her abuse since nothing she could do would actually harm him. It wasn't really fair to use him that way, but Bulma figured that if Vegeta did nothing around the house but consume resources, then he might as well serve the additional purpose of being her personal punching bag. Come to think of it, he might even be useful in solving her newfound problem with Yamcha…

"Hey, Vegeta?" Her words sounded suspiciously sweet, especially in contrast with the callous tone she had used moments before.

"Hmm?"

Bulma took a seat across from him at the table. "I'd like you to do a favor for me."

"Why should I?"

She fluttered her eyelashes flirtatiously. "Don't you want to help out a beautiful young lady in need?"

"Not particularly."

"Well, fine," she huffed. Obviously such tactics weren't going to sway a guy like Vegeta. "But hear me out, anyway. I broke up with Yamcha tonight. For good."

"Uh huh." Vegeta had heard that line before. He would hear them arguing and screaming hateful words one night, and the next night they'd be screaming with passion from their boisterous lovemaking. They were far from discreet, so Vegeta always had an idea of what was going on between them, even though he didn't want to.

"I'm serious! It's really, truly, finally over between us."

"So what does this have to do with me?"

"Well, I know it's time to move on, but I'm sure Yamcha hasn't gotten it through his thick head yet. And even though I was the one who broke up with him, I just feel…hurt, and I want him to hurt, too."

"Oh, really?" Vegeta perked up at this. He had always thought Yamcha was in need of a good beating, and he would be more than happy to administer one, even without Bulma's permission.

Bulma could tell by his eager expression that Vegeta was getting the wrong idea. "I mean _emotionally_ , not physically."

"Hmph." Vegeta's enthusiasm quickly drained away. What was the fun in that?

"So here's what I'm thinking: next week, a couple of friends of mine and Yamcha's are getting married. Yamcha and I were going to attend the wedding together, but that obviously won't be happening now. I'm sure he'll be there with his latest floozy, and he'll expect me to be so overcome with jealousy at the sight of him with another woman that I'll run into his arms, begging to get back together again."

"How exactly do you know all this?" Vegeta said with disinterest as he took a sip of water.

"I've been with him long enough to know how he thinks. Anyway, little does he know that I'm not going to attend the wedding alone; I'll be there with _you_ as my date."

The water he had been drinking came spraying out of his mouth. "Me?!"

"Yes, you. I need to have someone come with me to show him I've moved on."

"But why me? You're rich. Can't you just hire some guy off the street to go with you?"

"Ah, but Yamcha would expect that. If I show up with some random guy it'd be way too obvious. But if it's _you_ , he won't know what to think. He'd think you would never do a favor like this for me."

"And he'd be right. What's in it for me?"

"You can see it as an exchange for the fact that I allow you to live here rent-free while consuming more resources than humanly possible."

"But I can keep doing that _without_ doing you any favors."

Bulma stood up angrily. "You unappreciative…!" she started to rant, but quickly calmed herself down. Vegeta's temper was about as short as hers was, and if she pissed him off now she might lose her opportunity to convince him. She cleared her throat and took her seat again. "How about I work on making you some new equipment to use in the gravity room?"

"If you _can_ be making me new equipment, you should already be doing it. I shouldn't have to do anything special to get it."

The Saiyan prince was starting to get on her last nerve, but she was determined to not lose her cool. "I promise I'll spend an entire week dedicated to researching, developing, and creating all new equipment for you to use. You'll become a Super Saiyan in no time!"

Now she was speaking his language. "Well, why don't you get started on that and I'll think it over."

Bulma shook her head. "No way, I won't start on that until _after_ you've held up your end of the deal. I'm not dumb enough to think you won't skip out on the date if you've already got what you wanted."

Vegeta shrugged. Guilty as charged.

She leaned across the table and grabbed his hand. "Vegeta, please do this for me. I promise, I'll never ask you for anything ever again."

Vegeta looked at her and noticed that the way she was leaning over made her cleavage quite pronounced. He blushed and shook her hand away. "Fine. You've got a deal. But I might change my mind, so don't get your hopes up."

Bulma didn't seem to be listening as she gleefully came over and threw her arms around him. "Oh, thank you, thank you! I promise you, this'll totally be worth it."

Vegeta's blush deepened and spread all the way out to his ears. "Don't touch me!" He struggled to escape her grip, but it was futile; despite all his years of combat, alas, he had no experience untangling himself from the clutches of a friendly embrace.

Bulma backed away and giggled. Vegeta's apparent shyness toward women reminded her of when she had first met Yamcha. "You'd better get used to that. At the wedding we're going to be sitting close to each other, dancing together, maybe holding hands…"

"I didn't agree to any of that."

"Well, it's all part of a date, so technically you did." Before Vegeta could continue his protest, Bulma started heading out the door. "I'm going to call my friend Mulai and let her know there'll be an extra guest at the wedding. Talk to you later!"

Vegeta put his head in his hands. _What the hell have I gotten myself into?_ It was disturbing to think that, despite the fact that he hadn't been planning to agree to Bulma's proposal, as soon as he caught a glimpse of her tits he found himself accepting immediately. So much for self-constraint. Even more unsettling was the fact that when she'd told him about the close physical proximity the two of them would share on their date, Vegeta had found the idea almost comforting. He was firmly dedicated to his solitary lifestyle, but repressed desires were undeniably simmering beneath the surface; he was worried they might be set loose by this type of provocation.

Vegeta shook his head. No, he wouldn't let that happen. In fact, he reasoned, this could serve as a good exercise to test himself. How would he know how firm his resolve was if it wasn't put on trial once in a while? If he never directly faced temptation, there was no way to know whether he could resist it or not. With all his years of dedicated training, there was no reason why one mere woman should cause him to waver.

However, despite his best efforts to convince himself, there was still a voice nagging in the back of his mind.

_I think I'm going to regret this…_

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

Author's notes: Whee! After having this story in my head for so long, it feels good to finally have the first chapter finished! I definitely feel a bit out of practice since it's been a while since I wrote my last fic. What did y'all think? Perhaps some might think it's unrealistic for Vegeta to still be a virgin, but come on! Why do you think he's so pissed off all the time? ^_- Anyway, I'm a busy girl so it might be a while until I finish the next chapter, so see you whenever!


	2. Less Than

Okay, time to stop stalling and get this next chapter done. I'm trying not to fall back into my old habits of taking months and months between updates. The problem I'm having currently is that I know where I'm going with the fic, I'm just not entirely sure how I'm getting there :P But anyway, here we go!

Chapter completed: 2007.08.05

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

_Chapter 2: Less than_

"Hey, Vegeta, you busy right now?"

Bulma had happened to come strolling down the hallway right as Vegeta was exiting the bathroom. He had just finished showering and was about to relax in his room after a hard day of training. "What do you want?"

"Since the wedding we're going to is just a couple days away now, I figured you might need a briefing on Earth wedding customs. Come with me and I'll give you a lesson."

Vegeta glanced down at his towel-clad self. "Right now?"

Bulma slyly looked him up and down. "Well, you can put on clothes if you want to, but I'm not gonna force you," she said with a giggle. "Meet me in the living room when you're decent."

"Such a vulgar woman…" Vegeta muttered to himself as he walked down the hallway toward his bedroom. He was accustomed to being in environments where his presence commanded respect and fear, but now he found himself the object of amusement for a measly woman.

Vegeta got dressed and made his way to the living room, where Bulma was waiting for him.

"Okay, first thing we need to talk about is your clothing. You're going to be wearing a suit, and I found one of Yamcha's old ones lying around. I need you to try on this jacket to see if it'll fit you," Bulma explained as she pulled the jacket over his shoulders.

Vegeta tried moving his arms. How would he be able to fight in something so constricting? "It's uncomfortable."

"Comfort isn't the point. You're just supposed to look good." She stepped back to look at him. "Hmm, the sleeves look a little long, but I can have them hemmed. The pants will need hemming, too, since you're quite a bit shorter than Yamcha."

"Can I leave now?" Vegeta grumbled, not appreciating her degrading side comments.

"No, we're not even close to being done yet! Here's a question for you: do you know how to dance?"

"Why would I know how to do something as frivolous as that?"

"I mean, you're a prince, right? Didn't you attend lavish masquerade balls where all the maidens clamored for a chance to dance with the dashing prince?"

"I don't know if you've noticed, but I'm not like the princes in your silly Earth fairytales."

Bulma sighed. "Well, I like dreaming of romantic things like that. The title of prince is wasted on someone as unromantic as you."

"Then, since apparently I'm not ideal, I'll get back to my training and let you find someone more suitable." He started to walk away, but Bulma grabbed his hand.

"Wait! Don't leave. I didn't mean to insult you."

"You're doing a pretty good job at it for someone who's not trying."

"I was just kidding. Maybe you shouldn't be so sensitive."

"Look who's talking. I've heard you have screaming matches with your idiot boyfriend over lesser offenses."

"Okay, so we're both a bit high strung. That just means you and I need to be careful about what we say to each other."

"Or you could just keep your goddamn mouth shut, woman."

Bulma tightened her fists. She really wanted to clock him, but realized that the consequences of doing so were not ones she wanted to face. Through clenched teeth she spat out, "Don't…call…me…that. If we're supposed to be acting like a real couple at the wedding, you're going to have to learn to call me by my name."

The Saiyan prince responded with an eye roll.

Since Bulma had managed to calm herself down, she decided to try reasoning with Vegeta. "Look, obviously you and I don't get along very well. But that doesn't mean we can't make this arrangement work. I mean, you teamed up with Kuririn and Gohan on Namek, right? When working towards a common goal, even enemies can learn to tolerate each other. So think of it this way: right now, you and I have a common enemy in Yamcha."

"A worthless peon like him is hardly worthy of being considered my enemy," Vegeta sniffed.

"Fine: Yamcha is _my_ enemy, but you still have something to gain from it if we're able to 'defeat' him. So I think it's possible for us to be civil toward each other till we've achieved our goal. Our clashing personalities might lead to a blowup every five minutes, but we can still work through that, don't you think?"

Vegeta snorted. "Whatever."

At least it wasn't a negative response. "Okay. Now, let's get back to the matter at hand. So you can't dance, right?"

"I don't know that I _can't_ , I've just never felt the need to try."

"Well, now it's time to try. First we'll try something upbeat." Bulma walked over to the entertainment center and pressed the play button on the stereo.

_Oh, the mysteries of love…_

As the music played, Bulma began to sway her arms and hips as she made her way back over to where Vegeta was standing. "It's simple: you start moving your body in time with the rhythm like this, and just let it go wherever the music takes you. Come on, try it with me."

Vegeta stood with his arms crossed. "This is stupid."

"No, it's fun!" She reached forward, uncrossed his arms and grabbed his hands. Bulma continued to dance around him, moving his arms in time with her movements. However, his feet remained as rigidly motionless as a statue.

"Would it kill you to move your feet a little?"

"Is moving my feet while we dance a necessary component in your plot against Yamcha?"

"Technically, no, but you could at least put a little effort into this."

"I think just showing up is more than enough effort on my part."

"Like it or not, I'm expecting a bit more from you than that. I guess it's okay if you don't want to dance with me to fast songs, but you _have to_ do slow songs with me."

"I _have to_?" Again, she was trying to give him orders.

"Yes, you have to. The thing that's going to get to Yamcha the most will be seeing me swept up in the arms of another man as we gracefully glide across the dance floor. If you can't even do that for me, then I'm doing _nothing_ to help you in your quest of becoming a Super Saiyan. The amount of effort you put into this will equal the amount of effort I put into developing your training equipment."

Vegeta leaned forward in a threatening manner, their faces so close they could feel each other's breath. "Listen here, woman…"

"I told you to call me Bulma." She refused to budge from her position, staring back at him defiantly.

It was infuriating to Vegeta how someone like him who could destroy entire worlds with a flick of his finger was unable to intimidate a woman with no fighting power whatsoever. "Listen, _Bulma_ ," he spat out the word as if it were something vile. "How would you feel if you pissed me off so much I blew up your house and killed your family, _Bulma_? Don't you think it might be a good idea to not be such an insolent bitch, _Bulma_?"

The expected rage-filled tirade did not come. Instead, Bulma just replied coolly, "I don't think you would do that."

"Oh, really? And why wouldn't I?"

"I'm sure you're aware that Capsule Corp. is home to the most advanced technology in the world. If you were to kill Papa and me and blow up our facilities, then how would you do your gravity training? No other scientists on Earth are capable of creating the advanced equipment you have access to here, so I don't think it's in your best interest to harm us."

 _Dammit, she's figured it out._ For the very reasons she had stated, all of the threats Vegeta had ever made against her were idle. _Is that why she's not afraid of me?_ The Saiyan prince had always used intimidation as his main tactic for getting what he wanted, so he wasn't sure how to deal with someone who refused to be bullied. "I…could always go to another planet to find the technology I need." A lame response, but he was too flustered to come up with something wittier.

"And where would you find a spaceship without Capsule Corp.?"

 _I can_ not _lose to this woman!_ His pride would not allow him to let Bulma keep getting the better of him. However, before he could think of a retort, she had already moved on.

"Okay, so let's get on with your slow dance lesson." She went to the stereo and switched to a different track.

_In the sea of the galaxy…_

"Now, grab my hand like this, and put your other hand on my hip. Then all we do is sway back and forth. Not so hard, is it?"

It felt awkward for Vegeta to be so physically close to another person in a nonviolent manner, but he would not let his face make that fact obvious. Allowing himself to blush would only mean another victory for the Capsule Corporation heiress.

"You're not so bad at this. So, do you think you can manage to do this for an hour or two at the wedding reception?"

Vegeta rolled his eyes. "I don't know. I can train for hours under 300 times gravity, but the strain of slowly moving my feet for a while might be too much to handle."

Bulma laughed. "I guess you have a point. And who knew you had a sense of humor under all that arrogance?"

A door across the room popped open. Bulma's mother walked into the living room, got a glimpse of Vegeta and Bulma, and put her hand over her mouth in surprise. "Oh, my! I didn't mean to interrupt. Don't you lovebirds mind me, I'm just passing through."

"Mama! I-It's not what it looks like!" Bulma stammered as she broke away from Vegeta.

"Oh, you said the same thing the first time I caught you and Yamcha in b—"

" _Mama_!" Vegeta watched in amusement as Bulma turned beet red. Even though he couldn't seem to win against Bulma, at least he could take some consolation in the fact that Bulma could never win against her parents. "I'm serious! Nothing's going on between us. I'm taking Vegeta with me to Mulai and Molen's wedding this weekend, so I'm giving him some lessons on wedding customs. That's it!"

"No need to get so defensive, honey, I'm just teasing you." She leaned closer to Bulma and whispered, "Good luck!" She giggled and left the room.

"As if I would ever be interested in a jerk like him!" Bulma yelled after her. She turned around to face Vegeta again, noticing his amused smirk. "What are _you_ smiling about?"

Vegeta coughed. "Nothing."

"Anyway, I think we've done enough for today. I'll have the suit altered, and then all you have to do is follow my lead when we're out on our date and everything will go fine."

"Because you and I get along _so_ well." Vegeta's statement was saturated with sarcasm.

"It's fine if we argue, we just have to do it…discreetly. I don't want to ruin my friend's big day by having a huge scuffle with my date at her wedding. We can't let it come to that."

"I'm not promising anything. You have the remarkable ability to piss me off over nothing."

"Same to you. But I'm sure we can put our differences aside long enough to put Yamcha in his place. Anyway, I've got some errands to do, so I'll see you later."

Even after Bulma left the room, Vegeta found that he was still smirking. Was it wrong that having arguments with her had become the highlight of his day? With his training seeming to stagnate as of late, he found his mind looking for other stimulation, and Bulma was proving to be his preferred form of entertainment. He certainly wasn't considering ditching his solitary lifestyle to do anything more than bicker with her, though. He could admit that she was an attractive woman, but that didn't mean he was attracted _to_ her.

_I have a goal. It's not worth it to do anything that will distract me._

However, sometimes certain distractions could prove to be too tempting to ignore.

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

"Vegeta? Are you ready yet?"

"Almost." The Saiyan prince examined himself in the mirror. He was dressed in a dark blue suit with a crisp white shirt underneath, black patent leather shoes on his feet. The whole ensemble was quite stiff and uncomfortable. He much preferred his usual attire of spandex training clothing; even the effeminately colored Earthling clothing Bulma had given him had been better than this. Vegeta still had one more piece of the outfit that he wasn't quite sure what to do with. "Hey, wo—…uh, Bulma. Come help me with this." It was still hard to call her by her name, but a couple days of her screaming at him every time he called her 'woman' had nearly broken him of the habit.

Vegeta turned to talk to her as she entered the room, but was stopped short of saying anything as he took in her appearance. She was wearing a magenta colored dress that hugged every curve of her body. The spaghetti straps and low-cut neckline showcased her upper half quite prominently. The material clung to her waist and hips and then flared out into a wraparound hem that was slightly above her knees in the front and reached mid-calf in the back. Her hair was no longer done up in the silly afro she had been sporting previously; she now adopted a flowing, wavy style that reached just past her shoulders.

Bulma noticed Vegeta's slack-jawed gawking and smiled coyly. "How do I look?" she said as she twirled around.

The words that came to mind, including 'gorgeous', 'stunning' and 'drop-dead sexy', were things he should not even be thinking, let alone saying. "You look…not hideous."

"Oh, well then I guess I could say you look not unhandsome," she said with a giggle as she walked over to him. "Now, what do you need help with?"

"This." He held out a piece of thin fabric that matched the color of Bulma's dress.

"The necktie? Okay, I'll show you." Bulma took the tie from his hands and got a puzzled look on her face as she began to attempt to tie it around his neck properly. She was too busy to notice that Vegeta had begun staring at her body again.

 _What the hell are you doing?_ Vegeta scolded himself. They hadn't even left the house yet, and already he couldn't stop ogling her. This did not bode well; was his resolve really so weak?

After about thirty seconds of fiddling with the necktie, Bulma threw up her hands in frustration. "I don't know how to tie this stupid thing! I've only taken them off before."

Her comment laced with unintentional sexual implications didn't help matters.

"I'll go get Mama. She'll know how to do it."

Vegeta clenched his fists as she darted out of his room. Why were his repressed desires suddenly coming out so strongly? Just because Bulma had dressed up a little? She was still the same woman he had argued with practically every day for the past two and a half years. The whole date was merely a ruse to get her ex-boyfriend riled up. There was no reason to get excited over it. _Get a grip, dumbass._

Bulma reentered the bedroom with her mother in tow. "Oh my, you look so handsome!" Bulma's mother declared as she caught sight of Vegeta. With necktie in hand, she walked up in front of him. "Okay, here's how you tie it…"

He tuned out her overly cheery voice as she explained the process while tying the necktie about his neck. Why should he pay attention? It's not as if he was ever going to wear silly clothes like these again. Instead, he found himself realizing that, though Bulma's mother was wearing a top nearly as low-cut as her daughter's was, he didn't feel the same desire to voraciously gaze upon her body the way he did with Bulma. Strange, since the two were quite similar physically.

"…And that's how it's done! Pretty simple, and it adds so much to the look. Bulma, stand next to Veggie so I can see how you look together." Vegeta growled at the use of that embarrassing nickname. No matter how many times he threatened her to stop, much like her daughter, she didn't take his threats seriously. "Aww, you two look so adorable together! Wait right here, I'm going to get my camera!"

"Mama, it's not like we're going to a school dance or something!" But her mother had already flitted out of the room. Bulma sighed and folded her arms over her chest. "Really, this isn't a big deal. Nothing to get excited about."

"I agree." He was a bit taken aback that she had spoken the words he'd thought to himself just minutes before.

"Still…" She smiled as she looked over at him. "I _am_ a bit surprised that you clean up so nicely. You actually look worthy of dating a high-class lady like myself."

Vegeta scoffed, "I've never seen a high-class lady as demanding and bratty as you are."

"What did you say?!" As she made a move toward him, her mother reentered the room.

"Found the camera! Okay, now stand next to each other…closer…closer…there. Oh, Veggie, don't look so sour. Now say cheese!" She snapped the picture and tittered. "I remember taking a picture like this with your Papa back when we first started dating. It's a photo I still treasure. Maybe I should get this one of you and Veggie framed so you two can reminisce about it as you get older."

"Mama, I told you, we're not _dating_ , we're going on _a date_. Speaking of which, we should get going before we're late. Come on, Vegeta."

"I'll see you later, honey! Have fun, but not _too_ much fun!" she yelled after them with a wink.

"Ugh, I can't believe her! She totally has the wrong idea about this date," Bulma huffed as she stepped into the air car. She glared at Vegeta as he climbed into the passenger seat. "And where do you get off calling me bratty and demanding? If anyone fits that description, it's a certain Saiyan prince I know."

"Maybe it applies to both of us. More so to you than to me, of course."

"Wow, a match made in heaven," Bulma said in a falsely cheerful tone as she started the car.

"More like hell."

Bulma blew a strand of hair away from her face with a sigh. "What's wrong with us? Why can't we stop bickering?"

"Because apparently we're both too bratty and demanding."

"And arrogant."

"And self-centered."

"Brutish."

"Whiny."

"Augh, stop it! We're doing it again! This should _not_ be our most common form of communication. We have to be civil with each other, at least for tonight."

Truth be told, Vegeta would prefer to keep arguing with her since it kept him from dwelling on the fact that he might be a _little_ bit attracted to her, but that was something he certainly could not admit aloud to Bulma. "We haven't stopped fighting for over two years. What makes you think we'll be able to stop now?"

"We need a miracle…or the Dragon Balls…but there's no time for that. Our urges to argue are so strong, it might even be beyond Shenlong's power to stop them! So if we find ourselves bickering, we need to just drop it, or change the topic to something generic, like the weather or something."

"I'm sure we could even argue about that."

"Probably, but if we exercise restraint, I'm sure even you and I can have a conflict-free evening."

"Maybe, if you keep your mouth shut."

"You jer—" Bulma cut herself off before retaliating. Might as well follow her own example. "So, Vegeta, what do you think about this sunny weather we've been having lately?"

"Such matters are beneath my notice."

Bulma growled. "You're making this extremely difficult."

"I do my best."

"You're impossible!" Bulma shouted as she pulled her car into the parking lot of the church where the wedding ceremony was taking place. "Okay, we're here now. Stop being so… _you_ and behave yourself for the next few hours."

"Are you with the bride or the groom?" an usher asked as they reached the entrance of the church.

"The bride."

"Right this way, please."

"Why are we being divided up? Are we going to battle the other side later?" Vegeta asked as they walked to their seats.

Bulma snickered. "No, silly. It's traditional to divide the seating between the guests of the bride and guests of the groom."

"Hmph. My idea is better."

As they took their seats, Bulma glanced around the rest of the church. "I don't see Yamcha here yet. I wonder if he's still coming."

"You mean we're going through all this trouble and he might not even show up?"

"Well, it's not like it'll be a total loss if he doesn't. I want to see my friend's wedding, and this will be a good learning experience for you. It's about time you started getting more exposure to Earth culture, since you've been living here so long."

"Like I give a damn about Earth culture." Suddenly, Vegeta felt a familiar energy signal. "He's here."

"What? How do you know?"

"While Yamcha's ki may pale in comparison to one such as mine, it still stands out quite noticeably when surrounded by the pathetically weak ki of average Earthlings."

"Oh, so that means you can tell me where he goes without me having to look around for him. Even _you_ can be useful sometimes!"

Vegeta wasn't sure whether he should take that as a compliment or an insult, so he chose not to respond.

Bulma leaned closer and asked quietly, "So, where is he right now?"

"On the other side of the aisle, a few rows behind us."

"Is there someone with him?"

"Unless his date also has a strong ki, I won't be able to tell unless I look."

"But you can move at superhuman speed, right? Can't you look fast enough that he won't notice?"

"Of course. You doubt my abilities?" Vegeta swiftly turned his head over his shoulder in a movement that was imperceptible to the average human eye. However, Yamcha was far above average, and he caught Vegeta's gaze for just a millisecond, shooting him a look that could kill a lesser man.

"So? Did he notice us yet?"

"Definitely. He looks pissed."

"Good. Serves him right. And does he have a date?"

"There's a woman next to him. Blonde, busty, barely dressed."

"Of course. That's _so_ like him. If he thinks _that_ is going to make me jealous, he's got another thing coming." Suddenly, the music that had been playing softly in the background changed and swelled up, drowning out the voices of the guests. "Oh, the ceremony is about to start."

Members of the wedding party began the processional as Bulma explained the significance of each to Vegeta. "Those are the bridesmaids and groomsmen. Next are the maid of honor and best man. And there are the ring bearer and flower girl…aww, they're so cute!" The music changed once more, and all of the guests rose to their feet. "And here comes the bride. Come on, Vegeta, stand up!"

He looked up at her with a bored expression. "Why should I?"

Bulma ignored his aura of ennui and hissed at him, "It's tradition. Just do it!"

The Saiyan grudgingly arose, though he had no interest in ceremony proceeding before him.

"Oh, Mulai looks so beautiful! I'm so happy for her. And to think, she was always telling me that _I_ would be the one getting married first." Standing up and facing towards the aisle, Bulma glanced over to the other side and caught sight of Yamcha. Her heart skipped a beat; she wasn't sure if it was due to nerves, anger, or lingering feelings of affection for him. Almost as if he felt her watching him, Yamcha turned his head and looked straight at her. She quickly averted her eyes, but he had obviously noticed her, and had probably gotten the wrong idea about why she was looking at him, though she wasn't quite sure herself what the reason was. The feeling she'd gotten from him when their eyes met had been one of disappointment. Well, it didn't really matter what he thought of her, as long as he didn't think he had some chance of getting back together with her.

The bride reached the altar, and the guests all took their seats again. The minister began to speak. "We are gathered here today…"

As the ceremony began, Vegeta settled into a disinterested state while Bulma continued to think about her plot against Yamcha. She couldn't let him catch her off guard anymore, or else she was going to lose. Also, knowing that he had probably brought his date with him for the sole purpose of making her jealous, she couldn't let herself become irate over any flirtatious behavior the two of them might engage in. Bulma figured she would have to amp up the level of how far she went with Vegeta in order to surpass Yamcha. Might as well get a head start… "Hey, Vegeta."

He opened one of his eyes to look at her. "What?"

"Put your arm around me."

Vegeta balked at her request. "W-why?"

"I told you before that we're going to have to get close in order to make Yamcha jealous. We're starting now."

 _Dammit._ He had finally gotten to the point where he could sit next to her and not be distracted by her closeness, and now she wanted to take things further. "I think we should wait. Strategically, it's best not to—"

"Oh, fine, I'll do it." Cutting him off, Bulma put her arm around Vegeta's shoulders. "See? Not so hard, is it?"

 _Easy for her to say._ Obviously, Bulma was used to this sort of contact, but it was foreign to Vegeta. A ki spike farther back in the room told him he wasn't the only one having a strong reaction. "Yamcha seems to have noticed that."

"Well, let's give him some more to see, then." She pulled Vegeta closer and put her head on his shoulder. "Did _that_ get a rise out of him?"

"Yeah." It also nearly got a rise of a different sort out of Vegeta. Now her breast was pressing against his arm, making it increasingly difficult for him to ignore the thoughts he didn't want to be thinking.

"You may now kiss the bride!"

"Is it finally over?" Vegeta asked as he saw the wedding party heading back down the aisle.

"The ceremony is. Next, we go to the reception."

"You mean there's more?"

"Of course. Next comes the fun part where we have food, and we dance, and really stick it to Yamcha. Let's go." The two of them walked out into the entryway, but Bulma stopped. "Oh, I almost forgot, we need to sign the guestbook." She picked up the pen and opened the lacy, delicate-looking book.

"What's the point of that?"

"So the happy couple can see the names of all of the people who attended."

"Why?"

"Just…sign it. Don't question everything I tell you!"

Muttering under his breath, he took the pen from her and stared at the page before him. Other guests had written messages like "Congratulations!" and "Good luck!" Vegeta didn't really care about what the proper messages for a guestbook were, so he decided to write what he really thought of the whole affair.

Bulma took the book back from him after he finished writing. "Let's see what you…what the hell?" Taking a decidedly unorthodox route, he had signed his name as 'The Great Prince Vegeta' and left the message, 'I'd rather be training'. "I can't believe you!"

"You have a problem with me?"

"Too many to list." Bulma started flipping back through the pages of the guestbook. "Now, let's see if Yamcha and his arm candy signed…oh, yes, there they are. And look, how appropriate, her name is Candi! She even dotted her 'i' with a heart. How sickeningly precious." She tossed the book back down on the table. "All right, let's get going."

The two of them exited the church and headed back toward the car, each making their own mental preparations for the next part of the evening. As Bulma fretted over how she would deal with Yamcha, Vegeta worried whether his resolve would actually turn out to be as strong as he had believed it to be.

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

Author's notes: Okay, it took me two months, but I got it done. Actually, the reason this chapter took so long is that I had originally planned for the content of this chapter and the next to be one chapter, but seeing how lengthy it was getting I decided to divide it in two. So, the good news there is that I've already got a chunk of the next chapter completed, so it shouldn't be too long before I get it done (assuming I don't slack off, as I am likely to do ;P). Now if only Vegeta and Bulma would stop fighting and start smexing, I could get this whole thing completed all the more quickly ^_- Until next time!


	3. Fraction

I'm back, and better than ever! (Ya right :P) More like slower…but here I am, ready to feed you the next chapter of this tale with a foregone conclusion (but we can still have fun getting there, right?)

Chapter completed: 2007.10.24

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

_Chapter 3: Fraction_

Bulma and Vegeta left the church and got back into the car. Bulma directed a glare at her unwilling partner in crime. "Now, Vegeta, I realize you don't like being told what to do, but I wish you'd stop being so disagreeable whenever I ask you do to something."

"I don't see why I should have to participate in meaningless Earth traditions."

"Because when you're at a traditional Earth event it looks weird if you don't do them. I mean, you're already suspicious looking. I just hope no one figures out you're the alien who tried to wipe out the human race a few years ago. Your face _was_ broadcast all over the world."

Vegeta shrugged. Even if someone realized who he was, what could a mere Earthling possibly do to him?

"Anyway, you need to stop being so difficult. It's almost like you're _trying_ to pick fights with me."

Vegeta smirked. "Why would I want to do that?"

"I don't know, but I wouldn't put it past you. You seem like the type who thrives on conflict of any sort."

"And you don't? I don't think you'd act so obnoxious if you weren't looking to start fights with people."

Bulma took a deep breath. "See, now that I know you're trying to get me to bicker with you, I'm not going to respond to that. Though you may be right about one thing; obviously, I must love conflict since I decided to bring _you_ along as my date. There's never a dull moment with you."

"I'm honored," Vegeta snorted with palpable sarcasm.

After a few minutes of driving, they reached their destination. "Okay, here we are," Bulma said as she stopped the car.

Vegeta looked confused at the location. "Not that I'm complaining, but I thought we were going to the reception. Why are we back at your house?"

"This is where the reception is being held. There are lots of areas in Capsule Corporation that can be used for meetings, parties, and the like, so I offered to let Mulai and Molen have their wedding reception here. Didn't you notice the caterers and decorators running around all day?"

"What makes you think I would notice something like that?"

Bulma rolled her eyes. "Of course, I forgot, your majesty is too far above us mere humans to care about what we're doing with our pathetic lives."

"Now you get it."

She gave him a glare. "Anyway, just because you live here, don't think that means you can come and go from the reception as you please. You're staying with me until I say it's time to leave." Bulma linked her arm with his. "Oh, and don't forget, we need to look like a happy couple for this to work. Don't look so repulsed when I touch you."

Obviously, she was misinterpreting his indignant expression. The problem was not that he put-off by her touch, but that he actually enjoyed it.

They approached the doors to the inner garden of Capsule Corporation. The foliage-filled area that was normally home to abandoned dinosaurs and a variety of other species was now decorated with flower garlands and light strings. Numerous dining tables were set up over the grass, each one with flowers and candles on top, surrounding a large dance floor in the middle. Their progression into the garden was slowed when they found themselves in a long line of people.

"What's this line for?"

"It's the receiving line. This is where we greet the bride and groom and congratulate them."

"Sounds boring."

"Be quiet." After a few minutes, Bulma and Vegeta reached the front of the line. "Mulai! Molen! Congratulations! I'm so happy for you two!" She pulled her friend into a hug.

"Bulma! It's great to see you! Thanks so much for letting us have the reception here." Mulai looked at Vegeta. "Are you Bulma's date? Hi, nice to meet you!" She wrapped her arms around him in greeting, a move Vegeta found uncomfortable, though it was different from the feeling he got when Bulma touched him.

"This is Vegeta. He's been staying at Capsule Corp. for a while."

"I still can't believe you really broke up with Yamcha. I was so sure that you two were going to get married."

"Well, we couldn't get it right, but obviously you did. Congratulations, again." As a member of the wedding party led the two of them to a table, Bulma looked slyly at Vegeta. "You look so embarrassed whenever you get hugged. Haven't you ever had a girlfriend?"

"Like I would choose to distract myself from training for a nuisance like that."

"I guess I have to agree with you that relationships can be a nuisance." After they were seated at their table, Bulma leaned over and asked, "So, where _is_ that ex-nuisance of mine?"

"Over to the side, across the room. I can see him, but you can't look without it being obvious."

"As long as he sees us, I don't really care to look at him." She leaned farther across the table to grab his hands, her breasts nearly falling out of her low-cut dress. Vegeta tried to avert his eyes, but found his gaze kept drifting downward. "But you know, Vegeta, there's no need to be so cynical. Relationships aren't all bad. Love can be a great source of strength."

"Seems more like a weakness to me."

"You'll never find a girlfriend with that attitude."

"I don't care to."

"Oh, come on. What fun is it just to fight all the time? Having a woman in your life would be good for you. Of course, with your personality it might be difficult to find someone. I mean, _I_ can handle you, but most women probably can't."

"Best not to waste time trying, then." He yanked his hand away from hers, causing her to sit back up and stop giving him a good view down her dress.

An announcement sounded over the intercom stating that the buffet line was ready to begin serving dinner "I'm sure you're hungry, so go get yourself some food. I'll go a little later after the line dies down." As Vegeta got up from his seat, Bulma grabbed his arm. "Oh, and please try to leave some for the other guests. I know you Saiyans eat a lot, but there's a limited amount of food here, so show some restraint."

"I don't need a babysitter."

"Sometimes I wonder about that." He gave her a glare and headed over to the line for the buffet. When he returned several minutes later, Bulma took one look at him and began scolding him. "What did I say about restraining yourself?!"

"What?" Vegeta looked at the four plates of food balanced on his arms, mostly filled with meat. "I _did_ show restraint; I normally eat far more than this."

"Yes, but a _normal_ person gets just one plate at a time, and then goes back for seconds if they want more."

"Who said I'm not going back for seconds?"

Bulma balled up her fists in frustration. "Now, listen. I'd appreciate it if you stopped doing things that draw attention to us. The only one who's supposed to be noticing us is Yamcha, and preferably not during times like these when we're obviously not putting on the happy couple act."

"Oh, he's noticing us now. He's quite amused."

"What?" Bulma quickly calmed herself. "Well, we can't have him thinking this date is a sham. Here, let me help you with your plates. Would you like me to get you a drink? Some beer or wine maybe?"

"I don't drink alcohol," Vegeta said between mouthfuls of food.

"What a stick in the mud! You don't drink, you don't go on dates…what _do_ you do for fun?"

"I train."

"That's not fun, that's more like work…of course, you don't get paid for it, so it's not _really_ work. Hey, maybe you could get a job to pass the time. That might also help you meet girls."

"I don't think you need the additional income."

"It's not about the money, it's about keeping yourself occupied. People can go crazy from obsessing over just one thing all the time."

"Then shouldn't _you_ go crazy from obsessing about yourself?"

"Oh, shut up!"

"And what kind of job do you expect me to get? My prior work experience doesn't exactly leave me with a skill set that's highly sought after on this planet."

Bulma snickered. "That's pretty funny…in a terrible, morbid sort of way. But I guess you're right. Who in their right mind would hire a guy like you?"

"Didn't you 'hire' me for this date?"

"Yeah…what _was_ I thinking?" Noticing the rapidly disappearing food on Vegeta's plates, Bulma got up from her seat. "Well, I'd better go get some food before you go back for seconds and clear everything out."

Once she was standing in line, she realized that Yamcha and his date Candi were just a few places ahead of her. Yamcha happened to turn around and spot her at the same time. _Dammit, he caught me staring at him again!_ After their eyes met, he gave her a brief expressionless look, then turned back around and put his arm around his date, who gleefully snuggled closer to him. Out of habit, Bulma felt her fists tightening and her blood boiling. _I shouldn't get jealous, that's just giving him the reaction he wants._ But like it or not, she _was_ jealous, even though she had firmly decided their relationship was over. Apparently some feelings were harder to squelch than others.

Vegeta could tell Bulma's mood had soured by the time she came back to the table. "What's wrong with you?" he asked without thinking, immediately chiding himself for showing concern.

"I saw Yamcha in line with his 'Arm Candi', acting all flirty and snuggly…it's all so fake and just disgusting to watch!"

"How is it any different from what you're doing?"

"Because I don't want to see _him_ doing that, _I'm_ the one who's supposed to be making _him_ jealous."

"One-sided battles aren't much fun. It's the challenge of the opponent that makes it interesting."

"You know, for once, your battle-maniac way of thinking is right. I'm going to enjoy beating him at his own game very much. Oh, yes." Bulma rubbed her hands together in evil delight, an act Vegeta could not help but find alluring.

"I'm going back for seconds." The Saiyan prince quickly got up from the table and made his way back over to the buffet area. He soon returned with two trays of food from the buffet line.

"What are you doing? You're not supposed to take the whole pan!" Bulma hissed.

He gave her a defiant stare and began digging into his meal. "Most people are done eating, anyway. I'm just helping clear out the rest of the food."

"You could at least get a plate like a civilized human being!" Vegeta simply shrugged and continued to chow down as Bulma covered her face in embarrassment. "What was I thinking, inviting a barbaric Saiyan to a classy wedding? Your actions are making _me_ look bad by association."

"Sucks to be you."

Bulma managed to hold in the rage that had been threatening to explode like a volcanic eruption. She knew he was trying to provoke her, so it was best not to give him what he wanted. "No, by the end of the night, hopefully the one it will _really_ suck to be will be Yamcha. He'll be so overcome with jealousy, he won't know what to do with himself. And you're going to help make that happen, whether you like it or not."

"Yeah, yeah," Vegeta said dismissively as he started scraping the bottom of the pan with his spoon to get every bit of food remaining. Soon after he finished, waiters came around to the tables to clear off the dishes, looking bewildered at both the number of plates and the two empty warming trays on Bulma and Vegeta's table. Soon after, champagne flutes were brought to each table, each one filled with the golden, sparkling liquid.

"What's happening now?"

"The bride and groom are going to cut the wedding cake, and then they'll be toasted by members of the wedding party."

Vegeta blinked in confusion. "You mean it's Earth tradition to toast a couple at their wedding? And you call Saiyans barbaric."

Bulma giggled. Sometimes Vegeta's naiveté about Earth culture could be very cute. "Not toast as in cook them, silly. It means that someone will make a speech in their honor, and then everyone will clink their glasses together and take a drink."

"My idea of toasting them would be far more interesting."

"If we did everything your way, I'm sure weddings would be nothing more than a big orgy of fighting, ki blasts, and general destruction."

"That'd be more appealing than sitting around watching people cut cake and have drinks."

"Even if you're bored, just be quiet and watch!"

Vegeta sulked and leaned back in his seat with his arms crossed. He looked over to the table near the front of the room where the newly married couple had just cut the cake and were delicately hand feeding it to each other. "Disgusting," he muttered.

"Oh, like you're one to talk about disgusting eating habits."

The best man had stood up and begun making a speech while Bulma and Vegeta had been sniping at each other. As he was wrapping up, he raised his glass, with the rest of the guests following suit—of course, Vegeta required prompting from Bulma to do so.

"Okay, now when he says 'cheers', we tap our glasses together and take a drink."

"I told you, I don't drink alcohol."

"And I told you I don't care what you want; you're here to do what I tell you." Bulma was looking to the front of the room and failed to notice the disdainful glare he shot at her.

"Cheers to the happy couple!"

"Cheers!" Bulma replied happily. "Oh, Vegeta, make sure you do it—"

_Crash!_

"…gently," Bulma finished, holding the remnants of her glass in her hand. The strength Vegeta had put into clinking his champagne flute with Bulma's had been enough to nearly obliterate both glasses, leaving their contents dripping onto the table.

"Oops," the Saiyan Prince said unapologetically.

Bulma slowly raised her gaze from the table to look at Vegeta, her eyes filled with scorn. "I've had just about enough of you."

"The feeling is mutual."

Bulma called a waiter to their table to have the champagne-soaked tablecloth changed. As they stood next to their table, Bulma crossed her arms over her chest and refused to look at him. _It's better this way,_ Vegeta thought to himself. The angrier he kept her, the less likely she would want him to stay with her for the rest of the evening and give him more time to ponder whether he was going to act on his ridiculous attraction to her. "I'm going to get some cake."

"Fine," Bulma said icily, still not looking in his direction. "But remember, you get one piece. _One._ "

"Right," he said with an eye roll. She didn't have to treat him like he was stupid. He generally knew what Earth customs were; he just didn't care to follow them.

Vegeta was greeted by a perky young server as he reached the front of the cake line. "Hello, sir. Which flavor would you like? We have chocolate with raspberry filling, white cake with chocolate—"

"I want that one," Vegeta interrupted, pointing to the second highest layer of the cake.

"All right, here you go, sir," the server said, handing him a plate with a slice of cake.

"I don't want _that_ piece," Vegeta said pointing to the plate, "I want _that_ one." He gestured toward the cake itself again.

"Sir, I'm sorry, we can't…" she trailed off as she noticed a glowing aura beginning to form around him. She recognized that he was one half of the couple that had been causing small amounts of commotion throughout the reception, and realized he might be dangerous.

"Give it to me."

"…Yes, right away, sir…"

As Bulma stood by the table, she looked around the room and found where Yamcha was sitting with his date. She watched them talking and laughing and pouted. Why couldn't _she_ have a date that was easy to get along with? She watched as he glanced her direction, whispered something to Candi, and they both burst out laughing again. _How_ dare _they have fun at my expense?_ Bulma realized that she had to stop getting so upset about Vegeta's behavior. He did not deny that he was purposely trying to irk her, and so her battle this evening was almost against him as much as it was against Yamcha. However, it didn't matter if both Yamcha and Vegeta were trying to defeat her; Bulma would prevail.

Which is why, when she noticed her date returning to the table with an entire layer of cake, she repressed her natural urge to lash out at him and tried to put the best spin possible on the situation. "I see you brought back enough cake for both of us. How thoughtful."

"Who said you get any?" Vegeta protectively pulled his prize closer.

"You know, I think it would really get to Yamcha if he saw us happily sharing a slice of cake together. Since you agreed to help me, you should be more than happy to oblige."

Her statement was worded in the most polite way possible, but Vegeta could clearly tell that it was a demand rather than a suggestion. "You can have a little bit."

"Here, let me feed it to you. Say 'ah'." When Bulma had sat back down at the table after the waiters had cleaned up the shattered glass and spilled champagne, she'd rearranged their chairs so she could now see Yamcha's table off to the side. Looking out of the corner of her eye, she could see him tensing up as she ripped off a morsel of cake and hand fed it to Vegeta.

Vegeta felt uncomfortable with what Bulma was doing, but that didn't mean he wasn't enjoying it. He shivered a little when her fingers made contact with his lips as she slipped the cake into his mouth. _Get a grip,_ he tried scolding himself mentally to prevent himself from getting too excited, but to no avail.

Bulma giggled from across the table. Did she see how flustered he was getting? "You've got some frosting on your face. Here, let me get it for you." Before Vegeta could state that he was perfectly capable of cleaning his own face, Bulma reached over and ran her index finger along his lips to clean off the frosting, then erotically plunged that finger into her own mouth, licking and sucking the frosting off in a suggestive manner.

 _Oh, shit._ Bulma's actions were sending Vegeta's mind spiraling in a direction he preferred not to think about. Yamcha's ki spike indicated that he was quite displeased with what he saw. At this rate, both of them were at risk of losing to Bulma.

"Now you do me."

"Yeah…" Of course, she was referring to the cake feeding, but her phrasing of the request had only served to drive Vegeta's mind further down into the gutter. Reluctantly, he tore off a piece of cake and placed it in Bulma's open mouth, secretly relishing the feeling he got when her lips and tongue brushed against his fingertips. It was getting to be too much for him to handle.

"Okay, now I'll feed you again."

"No, that's enough." He said the words a bit more forcefully than he had intended, and Bulma looked taken aback.

"Excuse me?"

He needed to back down a bit, lest he risk her finding out why he was so adamantly opposed to continuing. "I think Yamcha's gotten the point. This is unsanitary; we should just stop." Better to make up a reason rather than tell her the truth.

"Hmm, I guess so. Who knows _where_ your hands have been?"

Vegeta clenched his teeth. She just couldn't let it go without getting a dig in at him, could she? Still, as long as she had stopped making him participate in such a stimulating activity, he didn't really care if they went back to their regular pattern of bait-and-insult.

Vegeta and Bulma continued noshing on their layer of cake, using forks rather than each other's fingers. Soon after they were finished, music started to play and an announcement was made. "And now, the bride and groom will share their first dance as a newlywed couple!"

Bulma stared wistfully out at the dance floor as Vegeta leaned back in his chair in boredom. How much longer was this night going to last?

"Okay, Vegeta, it's go time," Bulma said as the first song ended. "This is what I brought you here for. Don't let me down now." She was dragging Vegeta over to the dance floor before he could even protest. The two took a position in the center of the dance floor and began swaying to the music together. "Yamcha won't be able to ignore us when we're right here in the middle."

"Yeah." Vegeta honestly did not care if Yamcha was paying attention to them or not. He was currently trying to keep himself from taking delight in the closeness of Bulma's body.

"There he is." Bulma caught sight of Yamcha and Candi dancing not too far away from them. The former lovers' eyes met and they briefly glared at each other. "It's on," Bulma whispered, pulling Vegeta a little bit closer.

"What's on?"

"Oh, nothing, I was talking to myself. Now remember, we need to put our differences aside for a while. We've reached the most critical phase of our plan, and we can't screw it up."

"I know, already. Stop treating me like your incompetent minion."

Bulma giggled. "I don't know, I think I rather like the idea of having minions. Though I'd probably need ones more obedient than you."

The Saiyan prince growled and gave her an angry look.

"Ah, ah, no unhappy faces. Let's see you smile."

Vegeta tried to force a smile onto his face through his sneer.

"Uh, actually, that's probably scarier than your normal face."

Vegeta let out a 'hmph' but didn't say any more.

After a couple of songs, Bulma noticed Yamcha and his date leaving the dance floor. She followed them with her eyes and saw them heading back to their table, where they sat down and ordered drinks. Even though to most he appeared to be having an ordinary chat with his date, Bulma could feel his eyes staring at her the whole time, even when she was facing away from him. It aggravated her to the point that she felt the need to step up her game. "Vegeta, I'm sorry."

"For wha—" His words were cut short as she leaned forward and kissed him.

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

Author's notes: Bulma has thrown down the gauntlet! Will Yamcha have the power to defeat his opponent?! And Freeza lets his fingers do the talking! Next time, on Dragon Ball ZEEEE! duh da duh duh duh duh duh da duh duh duh duh da duh duh da da da da da da daaaa DUN DUN DUN!

Um…wow, where did that come from? Too many old dub memories :P Anyway, sorry I took so long getting this out. I once again ran across the problem of having a chapter that was getting too long, so I had to cut it in two. But that means chapter 4 is mostly complete, though that doesn't necessarily mean I'll finish it anytime soon ^_^;; But it will happen, at some point in the future, so look forward to it!


	4. Multiplication

I return with the conclusion of the "Wedding Arc." This was only supposed to take one chapter, not three…Ironically, I made a miscalculation :P Away we go!

Chapter completed: 2007.12.28

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

_Chapter 4: Multiplication_

Bulma pulled her lips away from Vegeta's after a couple of seconds to look over at Yamcha, whose jaw had dropped. She failed to notice the fact that Vegeta's jaw had also dropped at the surprise of receiving his first kiss. He had been successfully preventing himself from blushing all night, but now his entire face had turned beet red.

"All right, that really got to him! Hey, is it okay if I keep kissing you throughout the night? I think it's the best weapon I've got against him."

"Uh…sure." What was he thinking? He should have told her no, that things had gone too far already. However, truth be told, he had liked it. Which was all the more reason to tell her no, but he really didn't want to. So what if he got a little enjoyment out of this sham date?

"Oh, and in the future, make sure you kiss me back. It looks really awkward if I'm the only one getting into it."

"Y-yeah." Like he knew how to kiss. He figured he would just have to follow her lead and learn as he went.

Yamcha rose from the table where he had been having drinks and returned to the dance floor, looking more than a tad bit pissed. He came close to where Vegeta and Bulma were and began dancing with his date in a full-on embrace.

"He thinks he can outdo me like that? Please." Bulma leaned forward and locked her lips with Vegeta's once more. Vegeta concentrated on the movement of her lips and carefully mimicked her actions, closing his eyes since Bulma had done so as well. "That's better," Bulma said as she broke off the kiss. She looked over and discovered Yamcha had begun kissing his date as well. A twinge of jealousy flared up, but she quickly suppressed it. Yamcha opened his eyes during the kiss and looked directly at Bulma, spurring her to kiss Vegeta yet again.

Their battle continued in this manner for several songs, with each of them using their respective partners as weapons. However, they soon reached a stalemate. The fight would have to reach another level before a victor could be declared. "Hey, Vegeta," Bulma whispered slyly.

"What?" He tried not to notice the pleasant sensation he felt as her breath tickled his ear.

"Move your hand a little lower on my waist."

"Okay."

"Lower than that."

"If I move it any lower, I'll be touching your ass."

"That's the point. Yamcha's watching us, so do it."

Kissing in public was bad enough, and now he was supposed to fondle her? He had gotten to the point where he really _wanted_ to touch her, but it was still embarrassing to be performing intimate activities in a public place. Still, it's not like anyone except Yamcha was paying attention to them, so Vegeta was compliant and slid his hand down further. "Would you like me to fornicate with you right here on the dance floor as well?" he asked sarcastically.

"Maybe later."

"W-what?!" Vegeta sputtered.

Bulma chuckled. "I was just kidding. I'm no exhibitionist."

In the moment he had taken her response seriously, Vegeta was forced to accept that the thought he'd been trying to keep out of his mind all night was true; he really _did_ want to sleep with her. _Shit._ Even so, he reasoned, there were no grounds to believe he might be tempted to act on that yearning; he was only going along with what Bulma wanted to do on their date, and she was obviously not interested in doing anything with him beyond making Yamcha jealous.

"Ha, look at his face. I don't think he was expecting that. Why don't you give it a squeeze?"

Though he'd resisted earlier when Bulma had tried to make him take part in wedding traditions, he was suddenly obedient when it came to touching her body. Vegeta began caressing her backside, and he would have felt guilty for enjoying it, were it not for the fact that Bulma had been blatantly using him for her own purposes the entire evening.

When Bulma looked over to see Yamcha's reaction to her latest "attack", she was instead surprised to see Yamcha brush his hand lightly against Candi's breast. He made it look accidental, but Bulma could tell that he had done it on purpose to rile her up.

"Oh, that's just gross. We're in public!"

Vegeta rolled his eyes. "You're such a hypocrite. You only think his actions are disgusting because he's beating you."

"Shut up!" Bulma quickly lowered her voice and placed her forehead against Vegeta's in an effort to make it look like they were having an intimate conversation rather than arguing. "Okay, you may be right. I just don't know how much further I can go with this. It's already getting out of hand…but I really don't want to lose."

"We could take a break to work on a battle strategy."

"You always say things in such a fighting oriented way, but it's still a good idea. Let's rest for a bit."

Vegeta sat down in a chair near the dance floor, and Bulma took a seat on his lap. He didn't even protest, and simply wrapped his arms around her to pull her closer. Bulma put her arm over his shoulders and relaxed against him. It felt very natural and comfortable to hold her like this, more so than Vegeta cared to admit.

"So, what should we do next to piss him off?"

The Saiyan prince noticed the ex-bandit giving them the evil eye from the dance floor. "I think he's plenty pissed about our new arrangement."

"Yeah, but we need to do more than just sit here. Maybe…" Bulma trailed off into giggles as she felt Vegeta's lips brush against her neck. "Stop it, that tickles!"

"You wanted to do more than just sit here."

"Yeah, but…" She started laughing again as Vegeta continued placing kisses on her throat. She grabbed his face and turned it up toward hers. "If you need to keep your lips busy that badly, then kiss me properly." Bulma playfully pulled him into another long lip lock. When she broke it off, she looked a bit embarrassed. "Idiot…you had me so distracted I didn't even check to see if Yamcha was watching that. I don't want my efforts to go to waste."

Her statement irritated Vegeta, but he needed to keep up the illusion that he wasn't enjoying himself. "Yeah, I'm getting tired of this. I don't want to have to kiss your dirty lips any more than necessary."

"Me, dirty? This, coming from someone who'd never bathe if not told to do so."

Before he could reply, one of the bridesmaids got onto the microphone to make an announcement. "All right, everyone, it's time for the bouquet toss. All you single ladies, get over here!"

"What's this next ridiculous tradition?"

"The bride is going to toss her bouquet into a crowd of single women. Folklore says that the one who catches it will be the next to get married."

"Aren't you going to join them? I thought you were into all these asinine customs."

"I'll sit this one out. I just got out of a sixteen year relationship; I don't even want to _think_ about getting married right now."

The two sat and watched as a crowd of ravenous looking women hovered behind the bride. Once she sent the bouquet flying, there was a flurry of hands reaching into the air, followed by a brief struggle as several women tussled over the prize. Finally, a winner emerged. "Yay, I got it!" It was Yamcha's date, Candi.

"I hope that bimbo's not getting her hopes up with Yamcha. He's obviously just using her," Bulma chortled.

Vegeta noticed a chair being set up on the dance floor and the bride taking a seat. He was startled to see the groom disappear under her dress. "What's going on now? Are they going to…?"

"Stop right there, this is a lot more chaste than it looks. He's just removing her garter. After that, he's going to toss it out into a group of men, just like the bride did with the bouquet."

The groom retrieved the garter using his teeth and stretched it like a slingshot on his fingers. However, his aim was a little off, and the garter went sailing over all of the men, landing on top of Vegeta's hair.

"What the hell?!"

Bulma burst out laughing. "Wow, Vegeta, you must be really eager to get married. That garter was drawn to you!"

Vegeta blushed and threw the lacy object to the ground. "So stupid…"

"And now you get to have a dance with the lovely Candi."

"W-what?"

"The woman who catches the bouquet and the man who catches the garter are supposed to dance together. So, get on out there."

"But I don't want…" Vegeta cut himself off before he could say that he didn't want to dance with anyone but Bulma. It was ridiculous to even think that, let alone say it aloud.

Someone grabbed his arm from behind and an exuberantly chipper voice began talking at top speed. "Hi, I'm Candi! Nice to meet you! What's your name? We get to dance together now, how fun! Isn't it exciting that we're supposed to be the next people to get married? What if we ended up marrying each other? How wild!"

Vegeta slowly turned his head back toward Bulma, a pained 'why me?' expression on his face. Bulma simply smirked and waved him off. "Have fun!" With that, Vegeta was whisked away in a flurry of cheerful chattering. Bulma sat back in the chair and snickered. _Serves him right for being so difficult._ Suddenly, she felt a hand on her shoulder.

"May I have this dance?"

Bulma looked up and gasped. "Yamcha!" She quickly averted her gaze and looked down to the floor.

"Well? Do I get a dance or not?"

Bulma was hesitant to say yes. She knew he would probably use this opportunity to try to convince her to get back together with him. On the other hand, she could take this chance to let him know she still considered their relationship to be over. "All right," she said, taking his hand as they walked out onto the dance floor.

Once they began to dance, Yamcha wasted no time in pulling her tightly against himself; Bulma, quickly finding herself falling into old habits, leaned her head against his chest and closed her eyes. His arms felt so warm and familiar. She wondered if he could feel how quickly her heart had begun beating.

Across the dance floor, Vegeta was doing his best to tune out the vacuous ramblings of his current dance partner. How had this woman survived so long without being killed by anyone who had to listen to her for more than five seconds? Granted, she had a very appealing body, but was that really enough to make up for a complete lack of substance? Vegeta found he was far more attracted to Bulma despite the fact that she wasn't as buxom as the woman before him. Shouldn't his level of desire directly correlate with the level of a female's attractiveness? If so, why was Bulma more appealing to him? It didn't make any sense.

Vegeta noticed Bulma was no longer sitting in the chair where he had left her and looked around the room wondering where she might have gone. He was surprised to see her on the other side of the dance floor, comfortably wrapped in the arms of Yamcha. He knew he should be happy to have her out of his hair, but he couldn't force himself to feel what he thought he should. In fact, he was jealous. It displeased him to see her back together with Yamcha, but realistically he knew that she had never been interested in him anyway. _It's better this way._

"You look beautiful," Yamcha said softly, leaning down and practically pressing his lips against her ear.

"Thanks." She knew she needed to be wary of his sweet talk and compliments. Bulma could not allow herself to be won over by him.

"You seem to be having a pretty good time on your 'date'," Yamcha said with a chuckle. "What exactly are you doing for Vegeta to get him to go along with this?"

Bulma turned her head. "I don't know what you're talking about. We're on this date because we enjoy each other's company."

"Oh, yeah? From what I've seen, there's been more than one time tonight when you've wanted to throttle him."

"So you've been watching me?"

"Of course. I know you've been watching me, too."

"I may have glanced your way once or twice," Bulma sniffed.

"You know, maybe you can lie to yourself, but you can't lie to me. It's obvious we're both pulling the same stunt here. So let's just put a stop to it now and skip right to the conclusion we both want most." He looked lovingly into her eyes and started leaning his face down closer to hers. She found herself captivated by his gaze, eying his advancing lips with desire. At the last second, she shook her head and turned away.

"No! You're wrong! My reasons for doing this are completely different from yours."

"Oh, really? How so?"

"You're trying to make me jealous so I'll realize I want to come back to you. I'm trying to show you I've moved on and don't want to be with you anymore."

"Hmm. Well, here's a little advice, Bulma." Yamcha leaned closer to her, staring into her eyes with intense sincerity. "Before you try to convince anyone else that you're over me, you might want to try convincing yourself first." The song ended and he released her from his grip. "See you later," he said as he walked away from her.

Bulma stood with her mouth agape as she watched him disappear into the crowd. She reached out a hand after him and almost shouted for him to wait, but managed to hold herself back. The gravity of her own emotions held her immobile where she stood. _What am I doing?_ She was shocked at how quickly her old feelings for Yamcha had come washing over her. She had wanted him to hold her, and kiss her, and whisper loving words into her ear. Was he right? Was she truly not over him? Her head and her heart were in disagreement over what she should do. She felt tears stinging at her eyes. Why did this have to be so complicated?

Bulma decided to put her feelings aside for a moment and find Vegeta. She looked around and saw him trying to pry Candi off his arm. She made her way over to them and put on a forced smile. "I'd like my date back now, please."

"Oh, here you go. He's all yours. Boy, I tell you, this one's definitely a keeper. He's such a good listener, aren't you, Mister…uh, what was your name again?"

Vegeta was surprised and secretly grateful that Bulma had come back to him. Once Candi had scampered off, he was about to ask Bulma what had happened with Yamcha, but before he could say a word she had pulled him into a tight embrace, burying her face in his shoulder. He could feel that her breathing was erratic and her body was shaking slightly. Was she crying? Vegeta wasn't exactly the comforting type, so he wasn't sure what he should do. He wrapped his arms around her and whispered, "Don't let him win. We can still beat him."

Bulma pulled her face up from his shoulder in shock. Was Vegeta actually trying to console her? She never would have expected him to make any sort of attempt at being sensitive. It was almost astonishing enough to make her forget why she had been crying in the first place. She smiled and wiped the tears from her eyes. "Thank you, Vegeta."

Vegeta blushed and looked away from her. "It was nothing."

For the first time, Bulma took notice of how nervous Vegeta was acting. Was it possible that he was taking this date seriously? Bulma suddenly felt guilty that she had been so wrapped up in plotting against Yamcha that she hadn't even noticed the man who had been by her side the entire evening. It was strange to think that Vegeta might suddenly be interested in her; after all, he had never shown anything but disdain for her over the past couple of years. Still, he seemed to be holding her a little too closely for someone just putting on an act. In retrospect, she realized that he had all but stopped arguing and complaining once the two of them had started getting closer physically.

 _What should I do?_ She didn't want to lead him on if he was hoping something might happen between them. On the other hand, she recalled Yamcha's words that she first had to prove to herself that she had moved on before she could convince anyone else. _But with Vegeta? He's such a jerk!_ Bulma had never considered his merits as a romantic prospect, but now that she thought about it, he was moderately attractive, could engage her in entertaining banter that she secretly enjoyed, and, apparently, had a hidden tender side that was just beginning to reveal itself. The idea was intriguing, she had to admit, but it was still hard to imagine.

Vegeta didn't know what had happened between Bulma and Yamcha that caused her to come back crying, but it certainly raised his level of hostility toward Yamcha. He kept shooting him nasty glares from across the dance floor, all of which Yamcha brushed off. _Cocky bastard._ Vegeta gave him the finger, a gesture that caused the other man to laugh and shake his head. _Make light of me, will he? I'll show him!_ Impulsively, he pulled Bulma back into a dip and kissed her. After sustaining the kiss for much longer than he had intended, he pulled her back up and found himself unable to tear his gaze away from the gentle smile she now wore.

"Wow…that was nice."

He felt his face starting to burn again. Her attitude had suddenly changed in a way that was having an enormous effect on him. "It was…I just…he was giving me a funny look, so…" God, now he couldn't even form a coherent sentence. How the hell was she doing this to him?

"It's okay, I understand." They resumed their dancing as Bulma continued pondering the idea of getting together with Vegeta. He appeared to be interested in her, and she found herself becoming more interested in him the more she thought about it, but was it really a good idea? He didn't seem like the type who would want to be in a relationship; then again, that's not really what she was looking for after the many fruitless years she had spent with Yamcha. She was more interested in having someone to comfort her, which, astoundingly, Vegeta might be capable of doing. But how far was he willing to go? Rather, how far did she _want_ him to go?

Looking over Vegeta's shoulder, Bulma noticed that Yamcha and Candi were heading for the exit. Now she had to make the decision of what she was going to do. Since Yamcha had left, Vegeta's original purpose of coming on the date had been fulfilled. It was only fair that she let him know he was free to go if he wished. However, she didn't want to leave his arms just yet. "Thank you for helping me out tonight." She gave him a soft, lingering kiss.

Vegeta felt a bit guilty for sharing another kiss with her, since he too had seen Yamcha leave. He knew he should stop and let her know, since she would probably be angry if she knew that the target of her actions was no longer present. Though he was enjoying himself, he had put himself in a bad situation that had only gotten worse as the evening went on, and it was best to put an end to it as soon as possible. Still, he found himself hesitating to say the words. "Yamcha…has already left."

Instead of getting the surprised or angry reaction he had expected, Bulma simply looked deeply into his eyes. "I know." That acknowledgement hung in the air as the two of them stared into each other's eyes, each realizing the significance of the fact that neither of them made any attempt to leave.

After several moments, Bulma moved forward to place her lips against Vegeta's once more. The kiss was slow and intense, much different from the distracted kisses she had given him earlier while trying to get Yamcha's attention. He felt her tongue slip into his mouth and brush against his own, sending an arousing jolt through his body. He tried to move his tongue in sync with hers, which he was apparently successful at, judging from the light moan that escaped her throat.

When they broke off the kiss, they gazed at each other again, the music in the background all but drowned out as they listened to each other's breathing. Neither could resist the urge to crush their lips together again, completely oblivious to the world around them. They didn't even notice Yamcha, who had briefly returned to retrieve the suit jacket he had inadvertently left on his chair. He had hoped to find Bulma eagerly awaiting his return, but instead saw her still futilely attempting to prove she was over him, so he promptly left.

"Do you…" Bulma said breathily as they tore their lips away from each other, "Do you wanna go somewhere more private?"

"Yes," he said without hesitation. Hand in hand, the pair made their way out of the inner garden and through the halls of Capsule Corporation, heading toward the living quarters.

Bulma could hardly believe what she was doing. Yamcha was the only serious boyfriend she'd had, and the only man she'd ever slept with. Now, she found herself dragging another man back to her bedroom, a man she wasn't even dating, didn't really know all that well, and most of what she _did_ know wasn't good. Still, she felt the need to get her mind off Yamcha. Perhaps this wasn't the smartest way to achieve that goal, but it was the most attractive option available at the moment.

 _What the hell is going on?_ Vegeta wondered to himself as he and Bulma silently headed in the direction of her bedroom. He was certain that she had only taken him on this date to show up Yamcha, but now she was taking actions that were clearly not for an audience, and he found himself going right along with it. _This is ridiculous. I have to put a stop to it._ Despite what he thought he should do, he kept walking down the hallway with her. What did this say about his willpower as a warrior? Every day he was moving closer to becoming a Super Saiyan, and that training was too important to allow for any distractions. Why should he let this woman lead him astray? There was no feasible benefit to giving in to his desires, only possible complications. _It's not worth it._

As the door to Bulma's bedroom loomed, she slowed down to a stop in front of it. Vegeta hesitated slightly before letting go of her hand and continuing down the hallway. "Vegeta," she called after him softly.

 _Don't stop moving. Don't turn around._ His body didn't care what his mind told him to do, though, and he stopped in his place. "What?"

"Can I at least have a goodnight kiss?"

 _Just say no and walk away._ The simplest solution proved to be the most difficult, as he couldn't stop himself from turning around to look at her. He found her in an alluring pose leaning against the door to her room, back slightly arched with her chest sticking out. _Oh, shit,_ he thought as he found himself quickly closing the gap between them. Pressing his hands against the door behind her, he eyed her slightly parted lips with yearning as his mind suddenly turned from rational thought to rationalization of what he was doing. _Just one more kiss. That's it._ He hungrily claimed her lips, their tongues clashing as they eagerly explored each other's mouths. Errant hands began to roam, softly caressing the flesh beneath them.

Bulma was shocked at the level of passion and need she sensed from Vegeta. Perhaps he had grown lonely during his constant solitary training. She had never imagined he would even be interested in any sort of intimacy, judging from the way he usually acted. Now, it was quite clear that he was eager to engage in such acts, given that she could feel his erection pressed against her. She no longer cared whether it was a good idea to sleep with him or not; she just wanted to get him into her bedroom as soon as possible.

Bulma hopped up and wrapped her legs around his waist. "On second thought, maybe I'd rather have a good morning kiss." She reached back and slammed the button on the wall to open the door to her room. Without hesitation, Vegeta carried her inside, only pausing to allow Bulma to close the door by pushing the button with her foot as he made a beeline for the bed.

After he had deposited her on the bed and crawled on top of her, they continued to kiss and fondle each other, Vegeta groping at her breasts and thighs as Bulma caressed his muscular physique. _Just one time. If I do this just one time, I can get these damn urges out of my system,_ Vegeta continued to try to rationalize his behavior to himself.

He stopped worrying about trying to justify his actions when he realized that the biggest issue facing him now was the huge disparity in experience levels between himself and Bulma. While Vegeta had never even kissed anyone before that night, Bulma had been in a relationship with Yamcha for half of her life, so she most likely had a good decade and a half of sexual experience over him. Obviously, his pride would not allow him to tell her that he didn't know what he was doing. He was pretty good at bluffing, but bluffing his way out wouldn't work in a situation like this where he clearly needed to take action. However, the only kinds of actions he was used to utilizing on another person were battle techniques. Not exactly a skill set he could use in this situation…or could he? In any battle, the first step is to analyze the opponent's capabilities. All he had to do was pay attention to what appeared to be working on Bulma as he made his first foray into this new realm of human contact.

Vegeta began to pay close attention to how Bulma reacted to the way he was touching her as he ran his hands over her body. He found that he got the strongest reaction when touching her breasts, so he concentrated his efforts there, rubbing his fingers against the pert nipples he could feel through the fabric of her dress. She moaned and kissed him more vigorously, stroking her fingers through his hair. Apparently, Bulma didn't notice his inexperience, since she seemed to be enjoying herself.

Bulma scooted out from underneath Vegeta and stood up next to the bed. Kicking off her shoes, she reached back to unzip her dress. The Saiyan prince watched in awe as she slipped the straps off her shoulders and let the outfit flutter to the floor. Since the dress had been low-cut, she hadn't been wearing a bra underneath, and she stood before him clad in only her panties. He could only gaze upon her in wonderment as she sat down next to him and swiftly removed his tie. As she began sliding his jacket off his shoulders, Vegeta realized he needed to snap out of his stupor and stop being so passive. He was supposed to be the man, dammit; he couldn't just sit there and let her undress him.

As she moved on to unbuttoning his shirt, Vegeta reached down and undid his pants. He tried to slide them down his legs, but in his haste he had failed to take off his shoes, leaving his trousers stuck around his ankles. Bulma giggled and kneeled down on the floor, removing his shoes and socks for him. _Dammit…she's probably figured it out._ Vegeta was starting to get flustered. It was maddening to be in a situation where he was clearly at a disadvantage. Nevertheless, he was sure he could overcome his shortcomings and take command of the situation as he was supposed to. With the obstacles on his feet out of the way, he removed his pants and reached the same level of undress as Bulma, wearing only his underwear.

Bulma pushed him back and straddled his lap, her breasts hanging in front of his face. He wanted to just sit and admire her body, but if he did that, he stood no chance of asserting his dominance, especially in his current position. He lifted his head up to kiss one of her breasts as his hand fondled the other. He found that licking and sucking on her nipples elicited the most delightful moans. On the other hand, pinching and squeezing her nipples with his fingers brought forth gasps that were difficult to interpret as pleasure or pain. He figured it would probably be best to keep things on the gentle side, given his level of strength.

Bulma pulled Vegeta's face away from her cleavage and began kissing him passionately once more. The way she slowly and deeply probed his mouth with her tongue as she lightly grinded her hips against him was beginning to drive him wild with lust. The thin layers of fabric separating their genitals from each other had become a maddening barrier that needed to be done away with quickly. Vegeta's hands drifted to the waistband of her panties and he began sliding them down little by little, an act Bulma helped along by maneuvering her body to quicken the process. He then moved out from under her and removed his own underwear, throwing away the last bit of cautionary common sense that had kept both of them at least partially clothed up until this point.

For several moments, the two of them openly stared at each other's bodies. Vegeta took in her fully nude appearance as he anxiously wondered what his next move should be, while Bulma looked him over and couldn't help but compare him to her only previous sexual partner. He didn't appear to be as big as Yamcha, which she supposed was to be expected given his shorter stature. But how much did size matter? _I guess I'll find out soon…_

Vegeta figured he had to act quickly, lest he allow Bulma a chance to gain the upper hand again, so he gently pushed her into a prone position and crawled on top of her. He wanted so badly to immediately plow himself into her, but he didn't want to make a fool of himself. After all, though he knew the general layout of a woman's body, he didn't know _exactly_ where everything was located. It would be embarrassing to attempt to enter her, only to find his aim was completely off as he poked around trying to find the correct hole. Instead, he opted to get acquainted with her nether regions using a less conspicuous appendage first.

Removing his hand from her breast, he slowly slid it down her stomach until he reached the top of her thigh. As he began to move his hand over to the center, she compliantly spread her legs to allow him access. His fingers encountered hair and folds of skin as he searched, until they finally reached the main source of moisture and warmth. _So that's where it is? I would've been way off…_ Feeling the size of her opening, Vegeta wondered whether he would be able to fit inside her. He slipped a finger into her, feeling the smooth, slippery skin inside. When he added another finger, he found the skin was surprisingly elastic. Considering that women gave birth out of that same opening, Vegeta supposed it was only natural that it would be expandable, and he felt silly for worrying about it.

His fears alleviated, Vegeta felt ready to move on to the actual intercourse, but Bulma had other plans. He had been so busy concentrating on trying to figure out what the hell he should be doing that he hadn't even noticed how worked up Bulma had been getting as he fingered her. It had gotten to the point where she felt he was teasing her, so she had decided to tease him back. She rolled them over into a position where Vegeta was on his back and she was lying next to him. She kissed him lightly around his neck and chest as she took his erection in her hand and slowly began to stroke him up and down. He gasped at the sudden intimate contact, his breathing becoming heavier as he concentrated on the incredible feeling of her hand movements. Of course he had masturbated before, but the sensation he felt from another person performing the same action was far more intense. He heard her giggle as an involuntary moan escaped his throat. _Is she…mocking me?_ Vegeta realized that he had once again ended up in a submissive position without even noticing it. _Dammit. I'm not gonna lose to her!_

With one swift movement, he had her pinned underneath him, the tip of his penis resting against her entrance. He had come to the point of no return. The rational part of his mind encouraged him to stop while he still had the chance. But he couldn't deny the fact that he wanted nothing more than to continue.

"Go ahead," Bulma said softly, her piercing blue eyes boring into him.

Vegeta could not tell from her tone whether she was trying to coax him or dare him, but it was persuasion enough nonetheless. Slowly, he pushed himself forward, sliding his member inside her and relishing the sensation of her body enveloping him. Each of them collectively let out a deep moan as he gradually made his way deeper into her body. Vegeta could hardly believe he was willingly giving up his virginity to the one woman who could drive him crazy, and not always in a good way. He knew what he was doing was incredibly stupid, but he didn't care anymore. He had gone too far—and it felt too good—to stop now.

Once he had buried himself inside her to the hilt, he gradually began to pull back, savoring the feeling of her slippery inner walls trying to suck him back in. He continued to push in and out of her at a slow yet steadily increasing pace.

Bulma dug her fingernails into his back, her body craving more. Due to the excitement of the situation and almost agonizing pacing, she found herself feeling unbearably aroused. She felt as if she could come at any second, but his leisurely thrusts were keeping her from reaching that peak.

Vegeta's speed continued to increase as he plunged himself into her, soon reaching a satisfyingly quick pace. Bulma could feel the heat and tension building deep inside her and spread her legs wider to allow him deeper access. He could hear her breathing and moaning escalating to a rapid pace that sounded almost desperate. Bulma gripped him tightly as an intense orgasm exploded within her, sending a wave of pleasure throughout her body. Vegeta could feel her body clenching around his erection, and he was soon sent over the edge, releasing his seed inside of her as he put in a few final thrusts.

Pulling out of Bulma, Vegeta collapsed on the bed next to her. The only sound in the room was their heavy breathing, which soon turned to the deep, steady breathing of sleep as the two spent bodies succumbed to slumber.

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

Author's notes: Weeow! Finally, I finished the chapter. Boy, I tell ya, the last couple of chapters have been a bit of a pain to write. Not because of Vegeta and Bulma (though they are difficult to write sometimes, especially when they won't stop arguing), but because of the wedding stuff. After I had my own wedding, I was glad to think that I would never have to deal with wedding planning again. But then I had to go and write a fanfic including a wedding, and I found myself struggling to remember such details as, "what's the processional order at a wedding ceremony," and, "Is the cake cut before or after the champagne toast?" It was a drag to have to look all that crap up, and brought back memories of exhaustion! But I managed to push through and get it done.

And then, after all that, I had to write a new type of sex scene (as in, heterosexual :P). Having only written BL love scenes before, it was a bit of a new experience. And it took _forever_ to get to it…I mentioned before that the content of the last three chapters was originally planned to be one, which would have made a 15,000 word chapter. I blame it on the filler episodes that were thrown in so the fic wouldn't get ahead of the manga ;P

Anyway, make sure to come back next time for the aftermath! See if you can guess the "surprising" result of Vegeta and Bulma's lusty encounter (hint: his name is Trunks ;P)


	5. Remainder

Whoa, took a bit of a longer break than usual this time. Sorry about that, but personal issues (such as my husband having surgery) have eaten up most of my fic writing time. But I now return with more of the saga of everyone's favorite overdone couple ;P

Chapter completed: 2008.05.10

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

_Chapter 5: Remainder_

_This isn't my bed…_ That was the first groggy thought crossing Vegeta's mind as he awoke to the feeling of silky sheets and a pillow-top soft mattress. Opening his eyes, he found himself face to face with a wall that shouldn't have been there if he were in his own room. As he wondered where he was and how he had gotten there, he rolled over and found himself staring at the answer, as he discovered Bulma fast asleep next to him in the bed. _Oh, shit._ His stomach dropped as memories of the previous night came flooding back to him. How could he have let himself get carried away like that? He could not believe he had allowed the situation with Bulma to escalate to the point where they had ended up sleeping with each other.

There was no time to dwell on the matter, though. Vegeta wanted to get the hell out of there before Bulma woke up. Quickly and carefully, he attempted to maneuver his way over her. But apparently, his motions were not delicate enough, and her blue eyes popped open as he was still above her, stopping him in his tracks. At first, she looked as if she were about to scream, but then realization dawned on her, and she turned her head away from him with a guilty expression on her face.

Vegeta exited the bed and began swiftly gathering his clothes from the floor, hastily dressing himself as he went. Bulma sat up in bed, self-consciously covering her naked body with the sheets, even though he had obviously already seen everything. She wanted to say something, but didn't know what words could possibly make the situation any better.

Vegeta had put on his underwear and pants and thrown his unbuttoned shirt on, carrying his socks, shoes, and suit jacket. Just as he was about to leave the room, he turned his head back to speak to her, though he kept his eyes averted. "Don't you dare tell anyone about this."

Bulma, surprised that he had spoken to her, paused briefly before answering. "I wasn't planning to." Did he seriously think she would go blabbing about it to everyone as if it were the crowning achievement of her life?

"Good." With that, he made a speedy departure from the room, winding quickly through the hallways of Capsule Corporation as he tried to get far away from Bulma's room as fast as he could.

 _What the hell was I thinking?!_ Throughout the previous evening, Vegeta had realized that his attraction to Bulma was steadily growing, and yet he had done nothing to prevent himself from acting on his desires. He had believed his pride would have stopped him from letting himself do anything regrettable, but apparently he had been wrong. How could he call himself a respectable warrior if he couldn't even resist the charms of a mere woman? It was shameful to think how poorly this indiscretion reflected on his supposed exclusive devotion to his training.

Vegeta was so deep in his own thoughts that he nearly ran into the person who came traipsing down the hallway. "Oh, hi there, Veggie! How are you doing this morning?"

Being in no mood to deal with the excessive perkiness of Bulma's mother, Vegeta simply grunted and attempted to continue down the hallway.

"Did you and Bulma have a good time last night?"

"What?" Vegeta paused, his face starting to turn red. Had she figured out what had happened? _Of course, it must be obvious._ After all, he was half-dressed in the clothes he had been wearing the previous day and coming from the direction of Bulma's room; surely her scent was all over him. Even someone as dense as Bulma's mother could deduce what had happened. "How did you know?"

"About you and Bulma going to the wedding? I was there when you left, remember? What else would I be talking about?"

"N-nothing," Vegeta stammered. He didn't want to stick around and end up incriminating himself any further, so he continued down the hallway, ignoring her pleas for him to stay.

"Wait, Veggie! You didn't tell me anything about the wedding!" Her calls echoed down the hallway as Vegeta rapidly disappeared from sight. "Oh, why doesn't he ever want to talk to me? He's so shy! Oh well, I'll ask Bulma about it."

The Saiyan prince sped along, hoping not to run into anyone else along the way. He finally reached his destination of the bathroom and hopped inside the shower, letting the water run down his skin as he tried not to dwell on what had happened the night before. However, though it was easy to wash away any physical reminders of the encounter from his body, his mind could not be cleansed so effortlessly.

What was he going to do now? It would be awkward to continue living at Capsule Corporation, but he needed to have access to the technology that only Bulma's family possessed. He could try avoiding her, but they would inevitably run into each other. Apparently, it was a bad idea to have a one night stand with someone living in the same house as you.

Vegeta slammed his fist into the wall, cracking the tiles. Even if his training wasn't going as well as he would have liked, he had still been making strides in the long run. Why did he have to go and screw everything up? Although his dalliance with Bulma had been pleasurable, it was not worth the complications that were likely to ensue. He shouldn't have let his loneliness and curiosity get the better of him when he'd known from the get-go that it was a stupid idea. Still, though it was mortifying to think about what had happened, he had to stick around and continue to get stronger for the sake of his training. No way was he going to let one incident hinder him on his path to becoming the greatest warrior the universe had ever seen.

After Vegeta had left her room, Bulma flopped down onto her back, covering her face with her hands. "Oh my god!" It was shocking to think that, not only had she had sex with Vegeta the night before, but that _she_ had been the main instigator. In the whirl of her confusing feelings concerning Yamcha, she had ended up pushing their charade of a date much further than she'd ever intended. She was a bit embarrassed thinking about what she'd done, and Vegeta's reaction that morning made her feel guilty for getting him involved. Of course, he had obviously enjoyed himself, and hadn't made any attempt to resist her, so he shared culpability as far as she was concerned.

She was curious about how things might change between them. Obviously, neither one of them was looking for a relationship, so it wasn't as if they would start dating or anything. She also did not intend to continue having a sexual relationship with him; it had been a one time thing that just happened to occur under the circumstances. Bulma thought it would be nice if things could stay pretty much the same between them, though if he were a little kinder to her following their fling, that would be a bonus. Still, Vegeta's reaction earlier had told her that he might not want to be around her for a while. It's not like they usually talked to each other much anyway, so it wouldn't be that much of a loss, but the banter that they did share was usually as much or more enjoyable than it was exasperating.

Bulma was suddenly struck by the thought that she was not at all concerned about what Yamcha would think of this situation. During times when they had been broken up in the past, Bulma had occasionally gone on dates with other men. Even though they never turned into anything serious, there was always the presence of Yamcha in the back of her mind making her feel guilty for seeing someone else. This time, even though she had gone as far as to sleep with another man, she did not care at all what Yamcha thought about it. As recently as the previous night, when she had hoped to make him jealous and show she had moved on, her concerns had been completely focused on him, but for the first time in sixteen years she felt that his opinion didn't matter. It was this realization that confirmed to her that she was over Yamcha, once and for all. At least one good thing had come out of Bulma and Vegeta's ill-advised encounter.

Bulma looked over at her clock and saw that the time was 10:47 AM. She got the nagging feeling that she was forgetting something. "Oh, crap!" Bulma exclaimed as she jumped out of bed and scrambled to get dressed. She remembered that she had been scheduled to run a meeting along with her father to discuss new invention ideas with the Capsule Corporation Research & Development team at 9:00 AM. Her father was certainly capable of running this sort of meeting on his own, but she'd had a few ideas of her own that she had wanted to present personally. Hopefully the meeting had run long and she still had time to make it. As she was about to rush out the door, she noticed that the tie Vegeta had been wearing the night before was still on the floor. She had borrowed it from her father, so she hastily grabbed it so she could return it to him.

Running through the halls of Capsule Corporation, she quickly made her way to the corporate offices. When she arrived at the place where the meeting was scheduled to be held, she found a few people milling around, but the room was mostly empty. She spotted her father gathering up his paperwork by the front of the room. "Papa!" she shouted as she struggled to catch her breath.

Dr. Briefs looked up. "Oh, there you are, Bulma," he said, sounding as cheerful as if she had actually shown up on time. The man did not have a malicious bone in his body.

"Is it…is it too late?"

"Well, the meeting is over, but you don't have to worry about not attending. They loved your ideas, even though I probably didn't explain them as well as you could have."

"I'm so sorry, Papa. It was really stupid of me to not get up on time."

"Now, now, no need to be so hard on yourself, dear. I knew you were going out last night, and I thought you might need to sleep in. It's no crime to have fun when you're young."

"No, it was really stupid, and really… _really_ irresponsible." Her father had no idea that she was talking about more than just missing the meeting as she looked at the floor and wrung her hands absentmindedly.

"Oh, is that my tie?"

"Huh?" Bulma snapped out of her reverie and noticed the thin piece of fabric she had been twisting to death in her hands. "Oh, yeah! Here you go. Thanks for letting Vegeta borrow it." She suddenly realized how suspicious it must look that she was somehow in possession of the tie Vegeta had been wearing yesterday, even though she had obviously just woken up and rushed to get to the meeting. When would she have acquired it unless she had been there when it was taken it off? Fortunately, she didn't think her father would pay attention to such details. He wasn't an incurable gossip, unlike her mother.

Right on cue, the bubbly Capsule Corporation matron entered the room. "Hi, honey! Oh, and there you are, Bulma. How was the meeting?"

"It was great. I think we got a lot of things done," the doctor said, popping a cigarette into his mouth. "Well, if you'll excuse me, I've got some work to do in the lab."

"Okay, I'll bring you a snack soon. See you, dear!" The older woman turned to her daughter. "Would you like a snack, too? I've got plenty waiting in the kitchen for us."

"Sure…" Bulma answered hesitantly. She knew she was about to get grilled on her date with Vegeta, and she wasn't sure if she could handle her mother's probing questions without giving anything away. However, avoiding the issue now would only give her more ammunition for later, so she might as well get it over with.

"So…" Bulma's mother began, slyness already starting to creep into her voice. "How was the wedding?"

"It was great. The ceremony was really beautiful, and the reception was fantastic. I'm so happy for Mulai and Molen." Honestly, she couldn't give much information about the details of the wedding since she had been so distracted with her plan to show up Yamcha.

"Oh, that sounds wonderful! And it seems you had a good time, too. I heard from Papa that you weren't there when the meeting started. I thought about waking you up, but a girl needs her beauty sleep, right? I didn't want to get you up before you were, you know, clear-headed."

It was better for her parents to assume that she had been sleeping off a hangover rather than guessing what had really gone on, Bulma figured. She was also quite grateful that her mother had decided not to awaken her, or else she would have had to come up with a reasonable explanation for why she'd had a naked Vegeta in her bed. "Yeah, I may have overdone it last night. I mean, who can resist an open bar, right?" Bulma almost wished she _had_ gotten drunk, since it would have made her lapse in judgment a bit more understandable.

"You need to be a bit more careful, sweetie. Why, just now when I was looking for you, I peeked in your room and saw that pretty dress you were wearing last night all crumpled up on the floor. It'll get ruined if you don't take care of it."

Leave it to Bulma's mother to consider the mistreatment of clothing as one of the major consequences of over imbibing. But at least she thought the dress had been carelessly dropped on the floor in a drunken stupor rather than thrown off in a fit of passion.

"Oh, and I saw Veggie just before I came looking for you." The subtle slyness that had been present in her voice before was now coming out full force.

Bulma felt her cheeks starting to burn, but she was careful not to let any change of expression show on her face. Now that the subject of Vegeta had been raised, she knew her mother would be looking for any evidence of romantic activity. "Oh, really? What did he say?" Certainly after the way he had threatened Bulma not to tell anyone about their liaison, she couldn't imagine that Vegeta would have told her mother anything, but the woman definitely had a way of prying information out of people that they did not want to give.

"He didn't really say anything. I asked him about the wedding, but he just mumbled and walked off. He looked a bit embarrassed, actually. Do you have any idea why?"

She needed to come up with something plausible, and fast. "Well, you see, weddings are really emotional, right? Vegeta's not used to that sort of stuff at all, and he got a bit swept up in all those emotions."

"Really? Tell me more! What did he do?"

"During the ceremony, when the bride and groom said 'I do'…he cried." Bulma nearly cracked up at her fabrication. It was so hard to imagine Vegeta crying. She highly doubted that he was even capable of shedding tears.

"Oh, that is so sweet! You know, I've always thought the reason for his shyness is because he's a very sensitive person. Why do men try to hide their emotions so much? Don't they realize girls like us are looking for caring, sensitive guys?"

"Mama, don't forget, you're married."

"Oh, I know, but you just have so many handsome friends. How am I supposed to resist?" she said with a cheeky giggle. "But enough about me, what I want to know is how things went with you and Veggie last night. Did you make your move?"

"I told you before, I'm not interested in him. Why would I want to make a move?"

"So, did he make a move on you, then?"

"No!"

"You don't have to get so defensive, honey, I'm just curious about how your date went."

Since Bulma was starting to get flustered, she knew she had to put a stop to this conversation before she blurted anything out impulsively. "I'm not dating Vegeta. He's not my boyfriend. He's just a guy who lives in our house, eats all our food, and breaks all the equipment we give him. What's there to like about him?" They finally reached the kitchen and Bulma grabbed the plate of snacks her mother had prepared. "I'm going to take these to Papa and do a bit of work of my own in the lab. I'll see you later." With that, she quickly departed the room.

"Bulma, wait!" her mother called after her, but to no avail. She scrunched up her face and stamped her foot. "Jeez, why doesn't anyone want to talk to me today?"

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

In the week following his encounter with Bulma, Vegeta had devoted as much time as he possibly could to his training. Giving in to her had demonstrated a lack of resolve, and he needed to prove to himself that he was better than that. Still, even though he repeatedly drove himself to the point where he was bloodied, bruised, and barely able to move, his mind would not let him forget about what had transpired. He had thought at the time that allowing himself to have sex just once would release him from his repressed desires, but in actuality that experience had made his urges stronger. His body had finally experienced carnal pleasure, and it craved more.

However, Vegeta would not allow himself to make the same mistake again. To deter the possibility that he would foolishly act on his sexual wants, he had spent the week deftly avoiding Bulma. It was difficult since he was still living in the same house as her, but Capsule Corporation was large enough that it was possible to have little contact with someone if you were not specifically seeking that person out. Of course, there were areas such as the kitchen that both of them used several times each day, but he just had to search out her ki before going into any of the common areas to ensure that she was not currently occupying them. Unlike a warrior's ki, though, Bulma's was much more subtle, and if he did not concentrate on its presence it was easy to lose track of it. For that reason, he tried to limit his time in common areas so he would not end up accidentally bumping into her when he wasn't paying attention. He had also begun avoiding Bulma's parents following a couple of occasions when he had seen them and they seemed to be looking at him differently than before. The way her mother would giggle and speak coyly to him made him suspicious that they knew something. He figured Bulma had told them about what happened, even though he'd demanded that she keep the incident to herself. _Damn woman couldn't keep her mouth shut…_

After a particularly grueling training session, the Saiyan prince was in the kitchen trying to quickly grab something to eat before heading back to the gravity room. As he was searching through cupboards, he heard the door open behind him. The footsteps belonging to that person stopped, their voice intoning his name softly.

"Vegeta…"

It was Bulma. Why hadn't he sensed her ki sooner? He noticed the presence of some other unknown ki interfering, but where was it coming from? He wasn't in the mindset to worry about that, though; all he wanted was to avoid any kind of confrontation with her. Without turning around to look at her, he began walking toward the door on the opposite side of the kitchen.

"Vegeta, wait!" Her voice began to come closer as he stopped in his tracks. "I know you've been avoiding me, but can you just sit down and talk with me for a bit?"

Vegeta wasn't sure if he should listen to what she had to say. What if she said she wanted to start dating him? What if she wouldn't let him continue to use her training equipment if he refused her? What if she wanted to use their liaison to blackmail him somehow? Then again, it didn't really matter what she said to him since he could always use his superior power to establish who was in control. "Fine." He made his way over to the table, where Bulma was already sitting.

They faced each other for the first time since their rather unpleasant morning after conversation. Neither of them seemed comfortable looking the other in the eye. "Listen, I know it's embarrassing to talk about what happened, but it'd be silly for us to avoid each other for the rest of our lives because of one incident. We made a mistake, right? Everyone makes mistakes."

Vegeta was relieved that she also viewed their encounter as a slip-up and not the start of a beautiful relationship. Still, his nature would not allow him to make a statement showing complete agreement with her. "You may be okay with making mistakes, but I hold myself to higher standards," he said haughtily.

Bulma rolled her eyes. "Well, _obviously_ your standards can be lowered sometimes, mister high and mighty prince." At least their ability to bait and insult each other didn't seem to have been hampered by what had happened between them. "Anyway, just so you know, it was never my intention for things to happen the way they did. The situation kept escalating, and things got way out of hand."

"Thanks to you."

"Well, for such an unwilling participant, you sure seemed to have no problem going right along with it!" Bulma said defensively.

"That's because…" Vegeta had started speaking without thinking, and could not think of any way to end that sentence without owning up to the fact that he'd felt attracted to her, and, though he didn't want to admit it even to himself, still found her alluring. "Forget it."

"Oh, I see how it is," Bulma said knowingly. "I know you're a lonely guy who doesn't socialize with others a lot. It's only natural that you'd have some… _needs_ that weren't being met. Putting you in a situation like that with all those people in such a romantic environment, of course you'd end up hooking up with someone. It just happened to be me since I was the one with you the whole time."

"Right." It was better for her to think that he would have slept with anyone rather than letting her realize she was the only person in whom he'd had any interest at all.

"You don't have to feel bad about it. After all, you're not the only one who got something out of this. Though this probably wasn't the smartest way to do it, this experience helped me realize that I'm really over Yamcha."

"Weren't you supposed to have been over him _before_ we went on that date?"

"I _thought_ I was over him, but I guess I was wrong. If I really had been, things probably wouldn't have spiraled out of control as much as they did."

"So if you hadn't been lying to yourself, none of this would've ever happened."

Bulma sighed. "If you need to blame someone, then yes, you can blame me for what happened. I'm sorry if you felt like you were being used. I obviously underestimated how I would react to seeing Yamcha with another woman." She paused for a moment before continuing. "But anyway, why don't we just forget about this whole thing and move on? I know we weren't exactly friends before, but I don't want to never be able to talk to you again because of one stupid incident. We can be adults about this, right?"

"I don't know, you're pretty childish."

"Oh, really? Who's the one throwing around childish insults?" They glared intensely at each other as they began to fight, but both found the argument so ridiculous that neither one could keep a straight face, and they began snickering. "Looks like things are back to normal between us, eh?"

"Lucky for us." Vegeta tried to sound unenthusiastic, but he actually felt relieved. He had more fun interacting with her than anyone else, after all, and it would be a shame to lose that.

"Oh yeah, I almost forgot. I've got something to show you. I'm sure you'll be happy to know that I've spent the past week keeping up my end of the bargain."

"Huh?"

"Remember the deal we had? I promised to make new equipment for you if you went out on that date with me. Don't tell me you forgot."

"O-of course not. Why didn't you mention it sooner?" Actually, because of what had ended up happening on their date, the original terms of their agreement had completely slipped his mind.

"You don't have to be so snippy. We can go to my lab right now and I'll show you."

They began walking through the hallways of Capsule Corporation. Before reaching the laboratory, they ran into Bulma's ever-sprightly mother. "Hi, Bulma! How are you doing? You've been working so hard lately, I've hardly seen you! Oh, you're with Veggie." She let out a mischievous giggle. "Well, I don't want to interrupt you two. Have fun!" As quickly as she had arrived, Bulma's mother disappeared from sight before either of them had the opportunity to give any reply.

"I can't stand it when she goes off on her little gossip hunts," Bulma said through gritted teeth.

"Did you tell her what happened?" Vegeta asked suspiciously.

"Are you crazy? Telling her would be like announcing it to the whole world!"

"She acts like she knows something."

"She's always like that. You're just being paranoid…unless _you_ said something that tipped her off. I heard she talked to you in the hallway the morning after."

"Of course I didn't say anything. I have a reputation to uphold." He left out the part that his disheveled, half-dressed appearance at that time could have led to Bulma's mother figuring out what happened.

"So if neither of us said anything, no one should know. Just relax. No one will ever think that something happened unless you act suspicious."

They soon reached Bulma's laboratory. "All right, there're a couple of things I've been working on, but let me show you the one that's the most complete." Bulma pulled something from her workstation and presented it to Vegeta. "Tada! What do you think?"

Vegeta looked at the garments she held before him. "Is that my armor?"

"Yes. Well, technically, it's not exactly the same as the armor you used to wear, but it's a pretty accurate reproduction, if I do say so myself. I've studied your armor and found that some of the materials it's made out of aren't available on Earth, so I had to improvise a bit to find the closest matches possible. Why don't you try it on?"

Vegeta took the battle suit from her and began to undress. Though he had never been one to feel shy about his body, he suddenly felt uncomfortable taking off his clothes in front of her, given their recent history. "Uhh…"

"Oh! Sorry…" Bulma quickly turned around.

Once he was fully dressed in the armor, he began moving speedily around the room, performing punches and kicks in rapid succession. He was amazed at how much it felt like the armor he had worn before. Bulma's skills were truly impressive.

"How does it feel? Is there any restriction of movement?"

"No. I can move around pretty well. It performs similarly to the armor I'm used to." Actually, he felt it was an improvement over his old armor, but he couldn't admit to her that she had developed a more advanced armor than even the greatest scientists in Freeza's domain were able to create.

"I'm glad you like it," Bulma said with a satisfied smile on her face. "Now when you're doing your training, hopefully you'll stop hurting yourself so much since you'll have some good protection."

"And now I can push my training even further since there'll be lesser chance for injuries."

"Whoa, whoa, don't you go too far with that training of yours. I don't want you blowing up my house or something because you go too far overboard."

"But even if I did blow up your house, at least _I_ would be protected."

"You selfish bastard!" Bulma growled. "Don't you care about anyone but yourself?"

"Obviously not." Suddenly, the mysterious ki Vegeta had felt earlier flashed through his senses again. The feeling was akin to a tiny pinprick, so it was either very small or very far away. But why would this one particular ki be nagging at his mind from amongst all the billions of others on Earth? Vegeta began stalking around the room as he tried to discern what direction it was coming from.

"What's wrong?"

"I'm sensing a ki signal from somewhere. It seems…familiar, but I don't know who it belongs to." He stopped abruptly in his path. "It's…it's Saiyan. But it's not Kakarrot, or his son."

"But if Son and Gohan are the only Saiyans besides you, who could it be?"

"There's also that Saiyan kid from the future. The ki is quite similar to his, but much smaller. It's coming from…" Vegeta continued walking around the lab, eventually circling back to where Bulma stood. "It's coming from…you." He finished saying the words before he had time to fully comprehend their meaning, and once he did he just stared at her in shock.

"Me? But, why would…" Her question trailed off as she too realized the implication of what Vegeta had said. "So…what you're saying is that I'm…pregnant…with…"

"With _my_ …"

"Your child." There was a long silence as the two gazed at each other in disbelief.

Vegeta eventually turned away, muttering curses to himself. Things had gotten far more complicated than he ever should have let them. He was supposed to be focusing only on his training during these critical years leading up to when the Artificial Humans were scheduled to arrive. He'd experienced one lapse when he'd allowed himself to indulge in his desires, and because of that single incident he now found himself fathering a child with a woman whom he had no intention of having a relationship with.

Bulma, who had been standing in silence with a stunned hand over her abdomen, finally spoke. "It's okay, Vegeta. I can take care of the baby on my own. You don't have to do anything."

Vegeta snapped around quickly. "I wasn't planning to. I have much more important things to worry about. Now I need to achieve even higher levels of greatness to make up for this embarrassing blemish on my reputation."

"Oh right, because your _reputation_ is the most important issue right now," Bulma said in a huff. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to go tell my parents the news. Since, you know, they'll actually _care_." She swiftly left the laboratory, leaving Vegeta behind.

He could hardly allow her to go off and tell her parents all about what had happened without being there to monitor what was being said. Soon after Bulma left, he began following her, being careful to maintain enough distance so that she wouldn't notice him. He soon paused as he began to question his actions. _What am I doing? I should go back to my training, not concern myself with such trivial matters,_ he tried reasoning to himself. Still, he found himself intrigued enough that he wanted to know how the situation would play out. _It's really not my concern, but I need to hear what they're saying so I can protect my reputation._ Vegeta continued sidling down the hallway as he trekked after the woman with whom he had conceived an unintended consequence.

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

Author's notes: Yay for long breaks? As I said at the beginning, it was mostly that pesky thing known as real life that kept me from writing for a long time. But things have mostly settled down now, so the next gap shouldn't be nearly so long (Of course, my husband and I just bought a place, so I'll be moving soon…). So, next time on M! (Miscalculation doesn't have a cool sounding abbreviation like DBZ, it seems :P) Bulma's parents find out! Someone else finds out! *Cue mysterious shadowy figure that is obviously Yamcha* And maybe the baby is born? My chapter planning skillz leave much to be desired, so I doubt I can fit everything I'm planning into one chapter (hell, most of that stuff was supposed to be in _this_ chapter). See you next time with the results of my sporadically written efforts!


	6. Subtraction

Whoa…Okay, does anyone even remember this fic anymore? It's been more than two years since I completed the last chapter, and now I'm finally back with more. I never intended to go this long between chapters; I guess real life just got in the way. But never fear! I fully intend to complete this fic, hopefully within a timelier manner from this point on. Here we go!

Chapter completed: 2010.12.29

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

_Chapter 6: Subtraction_

As Bulma walked through the halls of Capsule Corporation, her mind was swirling as she tried to process the astonishing news she had just received. _I'm having a baby?_ Me? _With_ Vegeta?!

She had always imagined herself having children someday, but had assumed that it would happen on her own terms, not as the result of a one night stand with a genocidal maniac. Being unmarried didn't especially bother her, but she wasn't even in a relationship. She would have at least wanted to be dating someone she was in love with who would happily raise a child with her. She had essentially wasted half her life hoping Yamcha might become that man, and the thought of trying to find that man now sounded exhausting to her. How many years would she need to be with someone to be sure he was right for her? She was already in her thirties, so she knew she had more child-bearing years behind her than ahead of her. Even though conceiving an unplanned child out of wedlock wasn't the way she would have preferred to start a family, perhaps she should view this miscalculation as an opportunity. If she kept thinking of having a baby 'someday' but never felt it was the right time or the right guy, that 'someday' might never come. She might as well embrace the situation she found herself in and view it as a chance that could have passed her by.

The thought of having a baby was a bit scary to her, though. She was going to have complete responsibility for the life of another person. Was she ready to take on that sort of burden? Granted, she still had plenty of time to prepare, but she worried about whether she was capable of raising a child into a suitable member of society. She certainly couldn't count on Vegeta for help in that department, since he was hardly a suitable member of society himself. He did not seem interested at all in childrearing and, frankly, Bulma wasn't sure if he would be a positive influence on their child, since he didn't have enough good qualities to outweigh the obvious bad ones. How was their baby supposed to have a proper upbringing when it was starting out life with an unsure mother and an uncaring father?

Bulma took a few breaths to calm herself. She realized she was stressing out unnecessarily. Every family faces their own challenges, but most people still manage to turn out normal. In addition, her situation was far less difficult than most; being part of the richest family in the world, she obviously didn't have to worry about finances. Also, she had loving and supportive parents who were quite eager to become grandparents, so surely they would be happy to assist in raising her baby. Looking at it that way, the baby would have a greater advantage than most right from the start. Still, the father was Vegeta; she could only hope that most of his faults were personality-based rather than genetic. She didn't think she could handle a child who wanted to rule over the universe with an iron fist as Vegeta had once aspired to do.

Following from a safe distance, the Saiyan prince continued after Bulma down the hallway, mentally cursing the situation. There was a reason he had remained celibate for so many years, and the current circumstances were a prime example of why he should have continued to do so. He had known there would likely be consequences for his actions, though he certainly hadn't expected anything this significant to come from it.

Finding out that Bulma was going to be bearing him a child left him with mixed feelings. First and foremost, he viewed it as a personal failure in self-control that he had given in to his desires in the first place. He had zero interest in raising a child, and planned to let Bulma take care of that matter as she said she would. She didn't need his assistance, and didn't seem to want it, either, which was fine with him.

Still, even though he had no personal interest in childrearing, there was a part of him that was pleased to be contributing to the continuation of the Saiyan race. With only two pure-blooded Saiyans remaining, and no females, his race was in severe danger of going extinct. Wasn't it a good thing to continue passing on the blood of his powerful warrior race, even if it could only be through the bastardized form of half-breeds? As had been proven by Gohan, such hybrid beings were not necessarily weaker than full-blooded Saiyans. It was possible he was fathering a child that would turn into a warrior with strength even Vegeta could be proud of.

Vegeta slowed down his pace as he noticed Bulma coming to a stop ahead of him. He watched her peer into the living room and take a deep breath before entering. It seemed she had found her parents, and Vegeta took a position in the hallway out of sight but within earshot of the three—soon to be four—member family.

Bulma approached her parents, who were sitting on the couch watching television. "Mama? Papa? Can I talk to you both for a minute?"

"Oh, sure, Bulma. Would you like some cake?"

"No, thanks."

"How about some coffee?"

"No, I don't—"

"Or maybe a cup of tea?"

"Mama! Can I just say what I need to say? It's really important!" She hadn't meant to have an outburst, but she wasn't feeling particularly patient at the moment. She didn't want to just blurt out the news, but now she really had no chance to provide any buildup to it. Still, it's not like the backstory was one she really wanted to explain to them, so she might as well get it out of the way.

"Oh no! Is something wrong?"

"No, it's not a bad thing, just a bit…unexpected. You see, I just found out that…I'm pregnant." There was a moment of silence as Bulma watched her mother's eyes open and then widen steadily. Then, a whirlwind of motion as Bulma's mother jumped up from the couch and embraced her daughter.

"Oh, that's wonderful! Did you hear that, honey? We're finally going to be grandparents! When's the baby due? Is it a boy or a girl? Do you have a name picked out? Oh, let's go shopping and get you some maternity clothes. Something stylish, of course, nothing too old-fashioned. And we'll have to pick out a room to turn into a nursery! Better get some decorations for that, too. And we'll need a crib, and blankets, and toys, and baby clothes…"

Bulma had barely had time to process the news herself; she certainly hadn't thought at all about the preparations that were going to be happening in the coming months. "It's a bit soon to be doing all that. I'm not very far along yet." It was surely still too early to even show up on any kind of conventional pregnancy test.

The Capsule Corporation matron didn't seem to be listening, as her mind latched onto a missing piece of the equation. "So, what are you and Yamcha going to do? I know you broke up, but this could definitely bring you two back together." She let out a slight gasp as an idea struck. "You know, if you're not too far along, we could put together a nice little wedding before you begin to show."

Bulma sighed. She hadn't wanted to bring up the issue of the child's father right away, but it seemed she had no choice now. Avoiding the subject would only arouse suspicion. "I'm not getting back together with Yamcha. He won't be involved in this at all, because he's not the baby's father."

"Oh, so Veggie's the father?"

Bulma had expected her mother to be shocked to hear that the baby was not Yamcha's, but instead she was the one who ended up shocked when her mother correctly deduced the father with one guess. She got another surprise when said baby's father came storming into the room.

"I _knew_ you were lying about not telling your parents! What, you just had to gloat about how you got with the Prince of the Saiyans? You weren't getting enough attention already? Pathetic."

"Oh, yeah right! I'm not the type to kiss and tell! And you think you're such a prize that I'd brag about sleeping with _you?_ Please, spare me your self-indulgent fantasies." Realizing her parents were still in the room, Bulma broke off the argument and turned back to them. "So, Mama, how _did_ you know that Vegeta's the father?"

"Oh, honey, it was obvious to _everyone_ that something was bound to happen between the two of you."

"Not to me!" Vegeta and Bulma exclaimed simultaneously. They exchanged a glare, crossed their arms, and turned away from each other in a huff.

Bulma looked to her father, who, knowing that he wouldn't be able to get a word in edgewise anyway, had stayed silent up until this point. "Papa, surely _you_ didn't think this was 'bound to happen', as Mama said?"

Dr. Briefs cleared his throat. "Well, frankly, there has always seemed to be a certain tension between you two. And I think you're alike in more ways than either of you realize."

"In what way?" Again, Bulma and Vegeta glowered at each other as they said the same thing at the same time.

Bulma's mother sighed dreamily. "See, you're already finishing each other's sentences. Such a perfectly matched couple!"

"Nuh uh, no way, not happening!" Bulma yelled forcefully. "I don't care what you two think, there is _no_ relationship here! It was just a…a…"

"A temporary lapse in judgment," Vegeta offered.

"Right. We're not together, and we're not going to be. I'm going to raise the baby without his help."

"Aww, why would you do that? Don't you want to raise your baby together?"

"Are you kidding?! You know Vegeta's a bad man, right? Remember that whole thing when he tried to kill everyone on Earth?"

"Oh, that was _such_ a long time ago. When's the last time he tried to do anything like that?"

Everyone in the room looked over to the Saiyan prince, who suddenly looked a little flustered. "I…I could still do it anytime I want! You're all in constant danger of losing your lives, you know."

Bulma rolled her eyes. "Spare us your idle threats."

Vegeta ignored her and continued. "And anyway, I don't have time to be taking care of little brats. I'm going to be the most powerful warrior in the universe. The fate of one child doesn't matter to me, even if that child is my own." Vegeta turned and swiftly exited the room, heading to the gravity chamber to continue his training.

"See? _That's_ why I don't want him involved in the baby's life. He doesn't care about us, only his own selfish ambitions."

"I don't think that's true. Veggie may act tough, but I know he's got a good heart on the inside. If you keep trying, I'm sure you'll see it someday."

"Okay, I can't take any more of this nonsense. I'm going to go back to work in the lab…I just need to get my mind off all this. But I'm telling you, you're totally wrong about Vegeta." With that, she left the room.

Bulma's mother sighed. "Oh my. I don't see why she's so upset about this. She and Veggie are obviously perfect for each other."

"Well, some of the similarities they share make it difficult for them to get along. They're both quite stubborn, after all. And, dear, you may want to back away from trying to get the two of them together. The more you push, the harder they'll push back."

"Oh, fine. Though I was really looking forward to planning a wedding…"

"In due time. For now, let's concentrate on what we really need to get prepared for."

"Oh? What's that?"

Dr. Briefs smiled and put an arm around his wife. "Being the best grandparents ever."

She squeezed him tightly with a huge grin on her face. "We sure will be! I can't wait to start buying that baby all the cutest clothes, the best toys, the yummiest foods…"

"And I can start working on some toy inventions I've thought up over the years."

The two grandparents-to-be had clearly spent more time invested in baby preparations than either of the two parents. They had confidence that not only would Bulma and Vegeta make fine parents, but that the relationship between them would eventually work out, a possibility that neither of the two parties involved felt was an option worth considering.

Several months passed without much changing between the two, each of them concentrating on their respective livelihoods, Bulma her inventing and Vegeta his training. Neither of them had the inclination to foster any sort of romantic relationship, even as the birth of their child grew ever closer.

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

 _Six months. I can't believe it's been that long,_ Yamcha thought to himself as he drove his air car above the streets of West City. Though he and Bulma had had many breakups in the past, none of them had ever lasted this long, and they had never gone more than a week or so without contact. Following their friends' wedding, he had expected to hear from her within the usual time frame, but an unbelievable six months had gone by with no communication whatsoever. Could she really have been serious about breaking up with him for good?

When they had seen each other at the wedding, it was obvious that she'd still had feelings for him but was desperately trying to deny it. She had even somehow convinced Vegeta to pretend that they were a couple in a blatant attempt to make him jealous. After the show she had put on he thought he would hear from her right away, that maybe she would even call him that very night to make up. But the call didn't come that night. It didn't come that week, or the next week, or the next month. Now, after six months, Yamcha couldn't take it anymore. He missed her too much to let their separation continue. He had to talk to her and work things out between them. He had been afraid to call her, thinking she would hang up on him, so he decided to go see her in person. Coming face to face with her might bring out emotions that she wouldn't allow herself to feel over the phone.

He took a deep breath as he pulled into the Capsule Corporation parking lot. As he got out of his car and walked through the entrance, his mind was a jumble of the words he'd been saving for the past several months. There were so many things he wanted to say, but where to start? Hopefully, the right words would come when he saw her.

"Welcome to Capsule Corporation. How may I help you?" a robotic voice inquired as Yamcha entered the reception area.

"I'm here to see Bulma."

"What is your name?"

"I'm…a friend." It was best not to directly identify himself, since Bulma might refuse to see him.

"One moment, please."

Bulma heard a page over the intercom that she had a visitor, which she found a bit odd. She had plans to go shopping with a friend, but they weren't supposed to meet for a couple more hours. Bulma made her way to the reception area. "You're a bit early. Give me a second, I need to grab my—" Bulma cut herself off as she saw that the visitor she had was not the one she had been expecting. "Yamcha! Wha…what are you…oh, god."

The expression on Yamcha's face turned from a pleasant smile to wide-eyed shock as his eyes drifted from her face down to her burgeoning belly. "Bulma…are you…?"

Bulma sighed. "Come inside. I'll explain everything." She had known that at some point she would end up having to tell Yamcha what had happened, but she certainly hadn't expected him to show up at her home unannounced. She had figured since he'd obviously wanted to get back together the last time they had seen each other, he would have called her at some point and she could have gently broken the news to him. Now, seeing him all of a sudden after so long, her thoughts were muddled and she didn't feel at all prepared to explain everything properly. Still, he had to learn the truth eventually, so she might as well take advantage of this opportunity Yamcha had created.

As he followed her through the hallway, Yamcha's thoughts had transformed from the jumble of things he'd been planning to say to an entirely new mess of confused thoughts and emotions. She had better have a good explanation for not telling him about her pregnancy, because he found her behavior to be inexcusable.

They reached the living room, where Bulma took a seat on the couch. "Sit down, Yamcha."

Yamcha remained standing and fixed a hard glare at her. "You know, Bulma, this is really unacceptable. No matter how mad you may be at me, don't I at least deserve to know I'm going to be a father? How could you keep this from me?!"

Bulma turned her head, not wanting to meet his eyes. "I understand why you _think_ you have reasons to be angry about this, but you really don't."

"Oh, really? Please, tell me why I shouldn't be mad. I can't wait to hear your reasoning."

"Because…" she said firmly, turning to meet his gaze, "This isn't your baby."

She watched his expression change from anger to confusion. "You can't be serious."

"I _am_ serious."

"How far along are you, exactly?"

"Six months."

"Bulma, we broke up just about six months ago. How can you be sure it's not mine?"

Bulma didn't feel quite ready to reveal the baby's paternity. The wound from learning he wasn't the father was still too fresh for Yamcha to bear the bombshell revelation of the baby's real father. "It's just…the timing. When I found out I was pregnant and how far along I was, I knew it had to have happened right after we split up."

"So who were you seeing so soon after we broke up?"

She tried to find a way to dodge the question. "It's not important. It was a just a short little fling, and we're not seeing each other anymore." Hopefully that would be enough to sate his hunger for answers for the time being.

Yamcha felt like he had been on a roller coaster for the past few minutes. He had experienced a wide range of conflicting emotions in quick succession, leaving him almost numb from the sudden overload. Still, he felt a teensy bit of hope hearing that Bulma was no longer with the father of her child. _Maybe I still have a chance._

He finally took a seat next to her on the couch. "Let me ask you something. Are you seeing anyone now?"

"Huh? No way. I'm in no state to go out looking for guys, and men aren't exactly climbing over each other to get with a woman who's knocked up with another man's baby."

"Well, I wouldn't say there aren't _any_ men capable of stepping up to the challenge."

"What are you trying to say? That _you_ would?"

"For you, yes, I would," Yamcha said, taking hold of her hand.

Bulma gasped and pulled her hand away from his. "Yamcha, no…I can't."

"If the father is no longer in your life, you don't have anyone to raise the baby with you, right? Why not give me a chance?"

"It has nothing to do with _him_ , it has to do with _me_ ," Bulma said, standing up and taking several paces from the couch. "It has to do with my responsibilities as a mother."

"And what does that mean?"

"It means that the life most important to me now is not my own, it's my baby's. Right now, I need to be concentrating on preparing for the birth of my child, not worrying about getting into a relationship with some guy."

"But I'm not just 'some guy.' I'm the guy you were with for sixteen years, the guy who knows you better than just about anyone else, the guy who's willing to help you with your baby."

"The problem is that you haven't exactly proven yourself to be reliable. Okay, we were together for sixteen years, but how many times did we break up during that period? Face it, our relationship was unstable, and whenever we had problems, instead of dealing with them, we would just stop seeing each other until we got over it. Back then, whatever issues we had, they would only affect us. But now, any relationship between us would affect my baby's life, too. If we go back to breaking up and getting back together on a whim, the baby would have to deal with having a father who comes and goes at random. I can't have that. If I'm going to be in a relationship with anyone, it would have to be someone who is absolutely _committed_ to sticking with it, for better or worse. I'd rather be with no one at all than be with someone who's unreliable. So can you _really_ promise that you'll be there for me, no matter what, as well as for a baby that isn't even yours?"

Yamcha was left speechless following the emotional rant that had come pouring out from his ex-girlfriend. Of course, she had many valid points. This obviously wasn't the best time to try to make a plea to win her back. "You're absolutely right. I haven't been able to prove myself to be a dependable partner to you, and this is no time to try again. You've got things much more important than me to worry about. And I know you'll make a great mom."

"Thanks. You know, Yamcha, even though things didn't work out between us, I still really miss you. I hope that we can still see each other, you know, as friends."

She wanted to be _friends_? Clearly she was underestimating the strength of the feelings Yamcha still had for her. "I'd like to, Bulma, but…honestly, it'd be really hard for me. I still care for you, a lot. In a 'more than just friends' kind of way."

She gazed at the floor, speaking quietly. "I know that. I realize this is a very selfish thing to ask of you. Right now, I know it would hurt you too much. But someday, you'll get over me. And when that time comes, I want us to be able to spend time together as friends." She lifted her lightly-moistened eyes to meet his. "I don't want you to be completely out of my life."

 _She's killing me._ First, she said she absolutely did not want a romantic relationship with him. Now, she was nearly in tears over the thought of not having him be a part of her life. He had to consider the possibility that her pregnancy was making her highly emotional in ways that were confusing to both of them. He hesitated briefly before coming closer to her and pulling her into his arms. "Believe me, I _do_ want to be in your life. I miss you, and it's been hard being apart from you." He felt her arms tightening around him, and he reciprocated by squeezing her firmly. "I'm sorry I can't be what you need me to be right now. But someday, I hope I can be." Though Bulma thought he was talking about her offer of friendship, in actuality he was wishing that she would someday see him as a romantic prospect again.

"Thank you." Bulma knew that she was sending Yamcha mixed messages, allowing him to hold her this way. But she needed some kind of closure. She had broken up with him suddenly, and though she had gotten over him, there still had not been any kind of satisfactory ending moment between the two of them. To her, this action felt like it would provide some sort of conclusion to their relationship.

As they continued their embrace in silence for a few moments, Yamcha noticed violent movements within the protruding stomach now pressed tightly against him. "Wow, that's quite a powerful kick your baby has. Were you seeing another fighter after we broke up?"

Though his tone was joking, he had hit the nail on the head. Bulma, slightly startled, backed away, wiping away the tears that had been forming in her eyes as they'd held each other. Should she tell him the truth? He had already significantly narrowed the possibilities without even knowing it, so maybe she should go ahead and tell him everything. "Yes, the father is a warrior. One of the most powerful, in fact."

"Well, not more powerful than me, right?"

"Actually, he _is_ significantly stronger than you."

" _Significantly_ , eh? Not many men on Earth have that kind of power."

"Well…maybe he's not from Earth." She thought Yamcha might pick up on her implication from the clues she was giving.

"So…you went to another planet to sleep with a guy?"

Obviously, subtle clues were not working. "I don't have to leave the planet to find aliens! I don't even have to leave my own house!"

Yamcha still wore a puzzled look on his face. "So the father is a powerful alien warrior who lives on Earth." All of the evidence was pointing to one possibility, but there was no way it could be him. Yamcha tried sensing the baby's ki. He moaned in disbelief, as doing so confirmed his worst fear. "And the baby has Saiyan ki. Bulma, please, tell me it's not…"

Bulma fixed her eyes to a spot on the floor. "It's Vegeta."

Yamcha stood still, looking dumbfounded. This particular piece of news was more disappointing than anything else Bulma had told him that day. "I can't believe it. I can't believe you would do that. I mean, anyone— _anyone—_ but him I could understand. You know what kind of man he is; you know what he's done. He and his minions were responsible for the deaths of not only your friends, not only your _boyfriend_ , but billions of people across the universe. _That's_ the guy you choose to have a baby with?" He shook his head in disgust, turning away from her.

"It's not like I _planned_ to get pregnant. It was just a one night stand. Nothing happened before then, and nothing has happened between us since."

"When did this happen?"

"The night of Mulai and Molen's wedding."

He turned around to meet her eyes, looking dubious. "So you were _serious_ when you were making out with him on the dance floor?"

"No…not at first. Initially, I only brought him along to show you I'd moved on. But as the night went on, we just…I don't know, felt like we both _needed_ something from each other. One thing led to another, and…"

Yamcha continued to shake his head. "I can't accept it. There's no excuse, not for a guy like him."

"Like you're one to judge me! You, the guy who slept with multiple girls while we were still dating…"

"Hold it, Bulma. I may have gone out with other women; I admit that, and I was wrong to do so. But I never had sex with _anyone_ but you. You may not believe it, but that's the truth."

She could tell from the sincerity in his eyes that he was being honest. Not that it meant much to her now that they were broken up. "Well, that doesn't really matter anymore."

"And at least I'm sure I never went out with anyone who's committed genocide on multiple planets."

"Look, I know Vegeta's done a lot of bad things in his life. I'm not going to make excuses for him. The best I can really say about him is that he hasn't done anything terrible since he came to live here."

"Oh, such a ringing endorsement for the father of your child." Yamcha rolled his eyes.

Ignoring his sarcasm, Bulma continued. "All I'm saying is that people can change over time. You were a bandit when I met you, so obviously you know that people can change for the better."

"I don't need to be a bandit anymore because I have _money_. Do you think Vegeta's murdered enough people that he doesn't need to kill anymore?"

"As I said, he hasn't done anything like that lately, so maybe he has. During the couple of years he's been living here, he's been pretty harmless, only bothering to make idle threats. If he wanted, he could've easily stolen the Dragon Radar from me and gone out and wished for immortality, but he hasn't. I'm not saying I think he's a different man now, but I do think he has the potential to change, just like you did."

"You're delusional. If you want to think that that crazy asshole who doesn't give a shit about you, your baby, or anyone else is gonna change into anything other than an even bigger asshole, then go right ahead. I'm outta here." Fuming, Yamcha stormed out of the room, not even turning around when he heard Bulma calling out to him.

Bulma stared at the doorway briefly then collapsed on the couch. She blew her hair away from her face with a sigh. She knew Yamcha had reasons to hate Vegeta, but she was still surprised at how angrily he had reacted to learning of their fling. He was practically implicating her as a partner in Vegeta's past crimes for having slept with him once. No matter how bad he must have felt after hearing the news, he didn't have the right to try to make her feel just as terrible.

Even though Yamcha had agreed to eventually try to be friends with her earlier, Bulma expected that it would be a very long time before she heard from him again. Tears began stinging at her eyes. She knew he would get over this eventually, but it would mean another long separation. Her feelings for him were no longer romantic, but she did still care about Yamcha, and she always would. Apparently their relationship still had the potential for explosive blowouts, even without the romantic connection, so she would just have to suck it up and wait until Yamcha wasn't mad at her anymore.

Bulma felt aggressive stirrings within her abdomen as she lounged on the couch. Carrying a Saiyan baby was no easy feat. It seemed to want a lot of energy, and she apparently didn't have enough, as she was frequently left feeling exhausted. Now, after her emotionally draining encounter with Yamcha, she was incredibly fatigued. She tried to get up, but found she could not even lift herself into a seated position. "Oh, great."

Yamcha rapidly stormed through the halls of Capsule Corporation, wanting to get out of there as soon as possible. It was too much for him to take. Not only had Bulma moved on when he still hadn't, she had done so with the help of Vegeta, a man who didn't care about her at all. Now the two of them were having a baby together after a one night stand, while Yamcha, her on-and-off partner of sixteen years, was left with nothing. Nothing, that is, except for feelings for her that refused to disappear. Despite his anger and disappointment, there was still love for her in his heart. However, he could not bear to be around her for the time being, and he found it hard to believe that he would be able to get over her merely through the passage of time.

Yamcha noticed a figure coming down the hallway and almost wished he was still back in the living room arguing with Bulma. The haughty Saiyan prince, sweaty from a training session, was walking in his direction. Yamcha stopped in his place, clenching his fists so hard his palms began bleeding. He didn't stand a chance in a fight against Vegeta, but he couldn't just let him go without giving him a piece of his mind. "You bastard," Yamcha muttered half under his breath as Vegeta passed by.

Vegeta came to a stop. "Oh, what did I do to deserve such kind words?"

"You slept with someone else's girlfriend."

Vegeta chuckled. "I didn't realize she was still your girlfriend after she dumped you."

Before he could stop himself, Yamcha forcefully grabbed the front of Vegeta's shirt, his other fist balled up, shaking in anticipation. Vegeta made no move to stop him, instead meeting Yamcha's disdainful glare with one of his own. Yamcha, knowing that he didn't really want to get into an altercation with this absurdly powerful man, backed away, muttering curses to himself.

"You can have her if you like. I don't want her," Vegeta said as he straightened his shirt.

Yamcha snorted. "I'm well aware that you don't want her and she doesn't want you. And yet, because of what you two did, I don't have a chance with her. How is that fair?"

Vegeta gave a disinterested shrug. "Sucks to be you." Not caring to interact with Yamcha anymore, he continued on his way.

Alone in the hallway now, Yamcha threw up his hands in frustration. "I…couldn't have put it better myself. Goddammit, my life sucks." Now feeling more defeated than angry, Yamcha continued toward the exit and departed from Capsule Corporation, uncertain of when or if he would ever come back again.

As Vegeta strolled down the hall, he stopped when he heard a noise coming from the living room. He peered in and didn't see anyone, but heard what sounded like moaning coming from the couch. He approached and found Bulma lying there. "What are you doing?"

She turned to look at him, her eyes heavy. "Vegeta…help," she groaned.

"What do you want?"

"This baby saps so much of my strength, and I'm worn out from arguing with Yamcha. I'm so exhausted I can't even stand up. Can you take me to my room? Or maybe go find my parents so they can help me?"

Vegeta deliberated for a moment. He had no obligation to help her, but she looked so helpless it was almost pathetic. "I can help," he said as he placed a hand on her stomach.

"What are you doing?"

"Just hold still for a second." His palm glowed brightly for a few moments as Bulma felt an energizing wave flow through her. "I transferred some of my ki to you. It should be enough to keep you and the brat happy for a while."

"Wow. Thanks so much, Vegeta." She looked genuinely surprised and happy.

"I just didn't want to listen to your whining anymore." This wasn't good. Seeing her look at him with that grateful smile was affecting him in a way he didn't like. How long was this distracting attraction going to last? He needed to leave Capsule Corporation for a while, maybe even stay away until he had reached his goal of becoming a Super Saiyan. "Well, I'm off," Vegeta said as he left the room.

"See you later." Obviously, she didn't grasp the fact that he wasn't planning to see her again any time soon. As she watched him leave, Bulma realized that she still had a smile on her face. This was the second time Vegeta had shown affection to her. Even though he tried to hide it with his surly disposition, she could tell that he had felt concerned when he saw her lying immobile on the couch. When she had been telling Yamcha earlier that she thought Vegeta could change, she hadn't been entirely convinced of it herself, but seeing another small sign of humanity from him was encouraging her to believe in her own words.

_It could happen…maybe._

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Author's notes: Yippee! I did it! I finished another chapter, finally! I don't know where the time went, folks. I started writing this chapter in mid-2008 (like, just a couple of paragraphs), and then I just got busy with other things and didn't do anything with it for two years. Around summer of 2010 I started thinking that I really needed to keep working on the fic, so I went to work rereading and editing the previous chapters, but I didn't make it through all of them. A couple of months went by, I _again_ resolved to reread and edit the previous parts, and made the additional goal of finishing this chapter by the end of 2010. Well, just barely made it on that last part, but I did it ^_^v I'll set another goal here and now: I shall finish chapter 7 by the end of 2011! (But hopefully earlier ;P). This story should wrap up in two or so chapters, so look forward to the soonish-to-come almost-end of the story!


	7. Addition

So I'm back again, perhaps a bit later than expected -_-;; You'd think the goal of "I'll finish the chapter in the next year!" would be easily doable, but apparently I'm one of those overachieving procrastinators for whom even a year to finish something isn't enough (make that _start_ …I didn't write a word of this chapter until January 4th). What I really meant all along is that I'd finish it by the end of the year according to the Chinese calendar, and the Year of the Dragon doesn't start until January 23rd! Yeah, that's a plausible excuse…anyway, the pathetic rationalization is not what you're here for. Let's get to the fic!

Chapter completed: 2012.01.20

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_Chapter 7: Addition_

_I did it. I did it. I finally did it!_

No matter how many times he thought the words to himself, or even occasionally shouted them with uncharacteristic glee, Vegeta was having a hard time convincing himself that the objective he had spent the past few years working tirelessly toward had actually been achieved. Just to be sure, for what must have been the dozenth time that hour alone, Vegeta let the power he was quickly becoming accustomed to flow through his body. A golden glow began to emit from him, and he checked his reflection in a nearby pond. Green eyes, golden hair, and the biggest smile he had seen on his own face in quite some time. Yes, it was true. He had finally become a Super Saiyan.

After leaving Capsule Corporation all those weeks—perhaps months?—ago, Vegeta had headed out to the wilderness in search of a training ground free of distractions. Of course, pretty much anywhere Bulma wasn't was essentially distraction free. In the end, he had managed to find himself an isolated area with what he considered wilderness training basics, including a cave for sleeping in, ponds for drinking and bathing, and an abundance of edible plants and animals. Granted, after he began blowing up huge tracts of land with ki blasts he had to search a bit farther from his makeshift home for food, but comfort and convenience were not important on this training retreat. He was purposely depriving himself of these things, essentially, as a form of self-punishment for allowing himself to get so distracted that he'd needed to extract himself from the situation he had gotten into.

The saying 'out of sight, out of mind' proved to be effective for Vegeta. After a few days in the wild, he felt so disconnected from the recent events of his own life that they might as well have happened to someone else. All that was on his mind was his goal of becoming a Super Saiyan, as it should have been all along. _I should have done this a long time ago._ How could he have allowed himself to live in comfort these past couple years when he should have been pushing himself to his limits and beyond every day? Still, chiding himself would not bring him any closer to his objective, so he thought it best not to worry about what he could have been doing and put everything he had into his current training regimen.

Days began to blur together as he spent his time unrelentingly driving his body further and further. Without access to any advanced medical equipment, some days were inevitably dedicated to recovery, but as a Saiyan, he knew that he would only come back more powerful after he healed. Still, it was difficult for him to be patient during his recuperation periods after he had become accustomed to using technology to heal quickly. He often ended up returning to his training when he knew full well that he shouldn't be exerting himself; he was just so eager to make progress that the possible consequences didn't matter to him. At such times, he could almost hear the voice of Bulma in the back of his mind yelling at him to be careful, but he paid it no heed. She had already sidetracked him enough in real life; he certainly would not allow an illusory form of her to sway him from the path he needed to follow.

The Saiyan prince could feel his power increasing day by day, but true progress was not coming quickly enough. He knew that there was more to the transformation than just increasing his power, but he didn't know how to get that extra unidentified "something" that would push him over the edge. At this rate, Gokuu was only getting further ahead of him. Hell, even Gohan would probably transform before he did. He knew it was possible for half-breeds, after all, since the kid from the future had been able to do it, and he was clearly not a pure-blooded Saiyan.

Increasingly, his head began to fill with negative thoughts as time went by. He had started his retreat with enthusiasm, but that resolution was turning into frustration. He could no longer think about any progress he was making, only about how far he must be falling behind.

He woke up one morning and stood atop a bluff overlooking the surrounding landscape. He was seething with rage, clenching his fists and shaking from the force of his anger. _What's the point? No matter what I do, Kakarrot will always be one step ahead of me. There's no way I can ever surpass that low-level bastard!_ Vegeta began blasting at the scenery indiscriminately. "Why?! Why can't I do it?! What's wrong with me?!" Vegeta roared to the heavens as he continued to destroy the makeshift home he had come to know, the once green landscape quickly being reduced to smoking rubble. "I'm a super elite, dammit! The Prince of all Saiyans! Why should I be losing to low-class scum and some punk ass kid? _WHEN WILL IT BE_ MY _TURN?!_ " He threw his head back as he let out a wrathful scream. He could feel a foreign, uncontrolled sensation flowing through his body. Suddenly, Vegeta was engulfed in an explosion of golden light.

Vegeta stared at his hands in disbelief for several long moments. Was this really happening? Had it really been as simple as allowing his anger and frustration to overtake him? As those negative emotions dissipated from his mind, he burst into a long bout of maniacal laughter. It didn't really matter how he had done it; he had just taken a major step forward in his battle against his competition.

He felt eager to fly on over to Gokuu's place and issue a challenge, but rationally he knew he would not yet be a match for him, not when he had only just transformed and Gokuu had years of experience. He realized that this form was throwing his emotions a bit out of control, making him want to act impulsively rather than strategically. He took several deep, calming breaths in order to quiet the rampaging thoughts within his mind. The power seeped out of him and he reverted to his normal state. Much like the Great Ape transformation, mastering the Super Saiyan state would require training his mind first to learn to control himself in that form. Of course, a genius like himself had overcome the weaknesses of the Great Ape form at a very young age, so he was confident he would quickly learn to use this new transformation to his advantage and not be overwhelmed by the reckless urges it planted in his mind.

He spent a good amount of time simply transforming back and forth between his regular and Super Saiyan forms. It was difficult at first in the absence of the extreme emotions that had initially pushed him over the edge, but his body quickly became used to the feeling of accessing that higher level of power. Once he allowed himself to stay transformed for an extended amount of time, he had to concentrate on not allowing himself to give in to the aggressive impulses telling him to go out and kill indiscriminately. _That won't help me reach my goal. I will control this form, it will_ not _control me._ His experience with the Great Ape transformation proved helpful in gaining power over his own mind, but this form took far more focus to control. Still, in a short time he felt confident transforming and knowing that he still had his rationality about him.

Once he was sure he wouldn't fly off the handle and accidentally blow up the planet with his new powers, it was time to finally do what he had been eager to try all along: test his strength. The landscape around him was pretty much destroyed already, so he might as well continue to obliterate it by using it as target practice. He began to fire off ki blasts, noticing that his carefully managed urges began to flare up the more he used his power. Obviously, it was going to take some time before he gained complete control over himself as a Super Saiyan.

Vegeta spent the better part of the rest of the day getting himself used to using his power in increasing amounts, and as darkness began to fall, he began to feel the exhaustion he had been trying to ignore as he enthusiastically tested his limits. He had completely ruined the area he had been calling home for the duration of his training excursion, so he would need to find a new place to sleep for the night. Or, perhaps, he could return to an old place he had called home for the better part of the last few years.

He wasn't sure if his return would be entirely welcome, though. He hadn't even told Bulma he was leaving; surely she would be not be pleased if he suddenly reappeared. Of course, she was angry pretty much all the time ever since she had become pregnant. It suddenly struck him that she may very well no longer be pregnant at this point. He didn't know exactly how long he had been away, so it was possible that their baby had already been born. Regardless of whether there was a new resident living at Capsule Corporation or not, the thought of sleeping in a warm bed sounded very inviting after spending months sleeping on dirt in a cave. He wasn't a pampered prince who had spent his life in luxury, but he did appreciate comfort when he felt the need for it. Even if his return would not be embraced, there wasn't much Bulma or her parents could do to prevent him from living with them again, especially with his newfound power. He deserved a measure of relaxation after what he had achieved. Vegeta took off into the ever-darkening sky, heading in the direction of West City.

As he flew, he continued testing his new transformation. He was amazed at the incredible speeds he could now reach. He was moving so fast that he reached the city much sooner than he expected and had to stop to return to his normal state. Not that many residents would notice a golden object hurtling through the sky among all of the other lights emitting from the metropolis, but better to make himself less conspicuous whenever possible. He flew at a reduced speed toward Capsule Corporation, touching down on the large outdoor balcony when he arrived. As he entered through the sliding glass doors and made his way down the hallway, he pondered whether he would rather bathe himself first or just go straight to his bedroom to rest. Before he could decide, though, he stopped in his tracks as he noticed a figure coming toward him in the hallway. Looking both angry and pregnant in equal measures was Bulma, heading toward him with fire in her eyes.

"Well, I thought we had an intruder breaking in, but I guess it's just the obnoxious houseguest who up and left for three months without telling anyone finally returning." She stood in front of him with her arms crossed, glaring straight at him. "Usually you not being here would be a good thing since it means you're not eating all our food and threatening to blow everything up if you don't get your way, but it might've actually been useful to have you around to answer certain questions."

Certainly, he hadn't been expecting a warm welcome, but the level of hostility he was getting from Bulma was a bit surprising. He decided to be a bit more compliant than he usually was with her, given his better-than-usual mood today. "Like what?"

"What's the gestation period for a Saiyan baby?"

Vegeta shrugged. "Most of my race was killed when I was young. I wasn't old enough to know or care about such things."

"Hmm. Well, I'm assuming it must be longer than it is for Earthlings, because my due date was two weeks ago, and that obviously didn't happen. I've had a hell of a time trying to convince the doctors not to induce labor without saying, 'oh, the baby's half alien, so it might not be ready to come out yet'." Bulma groaned and clutched her stomach. "But I guess what the baby was _really_ waiting for was for its father to come back, because my water broke a few minutes before you got here. My parents and I were just getting ready to go to the hospital, though it seems they're too overexcited to be very helpful…"

Down the hallway, the two of them caught the sound Bulma's parents running around the living room.

"Oh dear, oh dear, oh dear!"

"Uh, honey, aren't you supposed to be helping Bulma pack a bag, not packing a bag for yourself?"

"Oh dear, oh dear, oh dear!"

Bulma sighed, which quickly turned to a grimace as she felt another wave of pain. "These contractions seem to be coming a lot faster than they should at this point. Do you happen to know anything about the birthing process for Saiyans?"

"Well, you're an Earthling so I can't say it'd be the same for you, but I do remember hearing something about Saiyan women giving birth and recovering quickly, due to the need to return to battle as soon as possible."

"Of course, I should have expected something barbaric like that from a race of battle maniacs. So you're saying that instinctually this baby might be programmed to try to get out of my womb as quickly as possible?"

"Probably."

Bulma cried out in pain again. She could hear the continued panicked sounds of her parents frantically running around. There was no way they would be ready in time if her baby were in a big hurry to make its entrance into the world. How would she make it to the hospital in time? She looked to the soon-to-be father of her child. "Hey, Vegeta, could you do me a favor? Seeing as how I'm, you know, about to give birth to _your_ baby."

Vegeta crossed his arms. "What?" He didn't really like hearing her refer to the baby as _his_ , since he had no intention of being involved in its life.

"I don't think my parents will be able to get me to the hospital quickly enough. They're still running around like chickens with their heads cut off. So I was wondering if you could fly me to the hospital. Since you're not going to help raise the baby, the least you can do is help it to be born."

 _Why should I?_ was the thought that resonated in Vegeta's mind, but he found even he wasn't heartless enough to say it aloud as he watched Bulma doubling over in agony in front of him. "Fine."

Bulma looked up at Vegeta in surprise. She had thought he would fight her on this, but he was being surprisingly agreeable. She certainly wasn't going to argue with the lack of argument. "Okay, let's go." She turned toward the living room and shouted down the hallway. "Mama, Papa, I'm going ahead to the hospital. Meet me there when you're ready."

"But how are you going to get there?"

"Vegeta's here. He's going to take me."

Bulma's mother came scampering down the hallway. "Oh, Veggie, you're back! It's been a while. How have you been? We simply _must_ catch up. How about I make us some tea?"

" _Not now, Mama_ ," Bulma said through gritted teeth. "Come on, Vegeta." He lifted her into his arms and walked back out onto the balcony, taking off into the pitch-black night sky.

"So where do I need to take you?" Vegeta asked as they reached a high enough altitude to soar above the buildings.

"Just go straight ahead, slightly to the left." She closed her eyes and gripped her arms tightly around Vegeta's neck. She took a deep breath to calm herself and crinkled her nose. "You smell awful. Honestly, do you just not bathe if no one tells you to?"

Vegeta, who had been feeling a bit uncomfortable at the physical closeness they were sharing for the first time since they'd slept together, was snapped back to reality by her snippy comment. "I do when I need to. But if I'm doing something more important, it's not necessary."

"And what could be more important than _not_ smelling like a garbage dump?"

"I became a Super Saiyan today." He wasn't sure why the words slipped out of his mouth; he hadn't necessarily been planning to tell anyone about his achievement until he unveiled it against an opponent in battle. Apparently, even after spending months apart Bulma still had the unsettling ability to bring his guard down.

"You did? Wow, that's…" Bulma was interrupted by another twinge of pain shooting through her body. "Oh god, I hope we make it to the hospital in time. I don't want to give birth in midair."

"I think I see it up ahead." Vegeta flew until he reached a tall white building marked with a symbol he recognized as one Earthlings used for medical purposes. He landed in front of the emergency entrance. "So…you've got it from here, right?"

"Nuh uh…take me inside."

As they entered, Bulma was surrounded by a flurry of nurses who began whisking her away in a wheelchair. Vegeta was turning around to leave when Bulma's voice stopped him. "Vegeta, wait!"

"What now?"

"Come with me."

"Huh?"

"Please, at least until my parents get here. I don't want to be alone."

Vegeta was growing impatient. He wanted nothing more than to return to Capsule Corporation and collapse into bed. Hanging around a hospital while Bulma gave birth held no merit for him.

"It's the last thing I'll ever ask you to do for the baby."

He must have still been in a charitable mood, because her pleas were proving persuasive, though he still wasn't happy about it. "Fine," he growled as he followed Bulma and the gaggle of nurses through the hallways. She was ushered into a room and the nurses began helping her change into a hospital gown. Vegeta blushed and looked away. "I'm staying out here," he called into the room from the hallway.

"Okay, but please don't leave," she called weakly.

Many of the doctors and nurses passing through the hallway looked as if they would prefer if he left as they took in his less-than-sanitary appearance with half-broken armor and clothing that was ripped and dirty, but he simply returned any glances in his direction with his own much more intimidating death glares. He stood by the door to Bulma's room with crossed arms, cursing himself for letting her convince him to stay. He was definitely out of practice when it came to dealing with her. It's not as if she would notice him leave since he wasn't even in the room with her, but he felt compelled to stay nonetheless. He wasn't quite sure what the feeling was…perhaps pity? Since it was at least _somewhat_ his fault that she was in her current situation, he supposed he could comply with the minimal request she had made of him.

As he stood outside the door, Vegeta could hear the noises in the room changing from mild moans into louder screams and cries; he was fairly certain he heard his own name being cursed more than once. After what couldn't have been more than half an hour, he heard a different cry coming from the room, that of a newborn baby making its presence known to the world. There was a lot of scurrying around by the doctors and nurses for a few minutes, and soon all of them were out of the room. Vegeta peeked inside to find Bulma reclined on the bed holding a small bundle in her arms.

"Come in and meet your son," she called softly.

Reluctantly, Vegeta stepped into the room. Was he still obligated to stay now that she had finished giving birth? Technically, she had asked him to stay until her parents arrived, and they were still nowhere to be seen. He found he was slightly curious to at least _see_ the child he had helped create, so he slowly approached the bed, peering at the baby Bulma held.

"His name is Trunks."

Vegeta scoffed slightly. Of course, she was free to name the child anything she wanted, and he certainly hadn't been expecting she would choose a Saiyan name, but he couldn't help but think his son should have a more dignified name than that. "Does he have a tail?"

"No, thank god. Imagine explaining _that_ to the doctors."

Vegeta continued to examine the child. No tail, and the small patch of hair he could see was lavender, not black. When Trunks opened his eyes briefly, Vegeta saw a flash of blue. The baby hardly looked Saiyan at all, yet he could feel a ki emanating from him that was already stronger than anyone else in the entire city, excluding his own. "I don't see why anyone says babies are cute. All red-faced and wrinkly…"

"It's hard to tell what a baby will end up looking like when they're first born. As he grows up, he'll start to show distinct features from each of us. I can only hope he doesn't take after you _too_ much."

"His hair and eyes are clearly not Saiyan. Maybe you'll get lucky and he'll be just like a little clone of you. Then you can vainly admire yourself even when you're not looking in a mirror." Vegeta had been fighting against his natural urge to bicker with her, but since she had first made an insult against him, he hadn't been able to resist firing back. He looked at her face to try to determine if she was angry with him, but he couldn't tell if the half-lidded look she was directing at him was a glare or simply due to exhaustion.

"Come closer, Vegeta. I have something for you."

He moved forward skeptically. What could she possibly have to give him in her current state? The only thing she had on her was the baby, and he couldn't see her handing him over just like that.

As he kneeled next to her, Bulma put her arm around his neck and pulled his face toward hers, placing a soft, brief kiss on his lips. Vegeta looked at her quizzically. Hadn't they agreed that they weren't going to be in a relationship? Was she changing her mind now that she was facing the reality of raising Trunks on her own?

Bulma shook her head as if to brush off what Vegeta was thinking. "I just wanted to say congratulations. On becoming a father, and a Super Saiyan. Though I'm sure one of those things means a lot more to you than the other…"

Vegeta wasn't sure how to respond to either her actions or her comments. Luckily, he didn't have to as he caught the excited sounds of Bulma's parents approaching the room. "Your parents are here now. I'm going home."

Vegeta quickly stormed out of the room, ignoring Bulma's mother's attempt to chat with him as she entered. He moved swiftly through the halls until he reached the exit, blasting off into the night sky at top speed. "What the hell?" he muttered to himself as he flew toward Capsule Corporation. All of the uncomfortable feelings he had experienced with Bulma before had returned just like that. Since he had spent the past few months in the wilderness and all but forgotten about his situation with her, he had hoped that meant he would continue to be unaffected by her when he returned. However, just spending time with her, and especially receiving a kiss from her…maybe he shouldn't have come back at all if she could still make him feel so uncomfortable.

Still, there were benefits to staying at Capsule Corporation, such as easy access to technology and sustenance. Now that he had finally become a Super Saiyan, it was important to maintain a high level of training, which was much easier to do when he did not have to focus on survival. Even though she was still a distraction for him, he was sure they could live in the same house as they had done before and he'd only seek her out when he needed something. _Something_ technological _, right?_ a voice in his head mocked him. Of course, he would stick with his resolve to live his life in solitude. It didn't make sense to fall prey to the seduction of temptation again now that he'd finally taken a huge step forward in reaching his goal.

Nevertheless, he was loath to admit, there was a part of him that still harbored a desire he knew he should not have.

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Author's notes: Phew, I did it! A bit late, granted, but it got done. What more can you ask for? Oh, right, for it to be done more quickly :P Well, when I realized that I've been working on this fic for too damn long (the first chapter was completed in 2007 o_O), I decided that it _must_ be finished this year. If that means busting my ass to write more chapters than I ever thought I would have to, then so be it (because I'm terrible as estimating the length of my fics…I originally thought this thing would be done in four chapters). So there could be two, or three, or some ungodly number of chapters left for me to write by the end of the year. It matters not, I will do it, for you see…*hair stands up and turns golden* I am a Super Spazz! *Ahem* As usual, I've babbled on too long. See you next time!


	8. Greater Than

Guess who's back, back again…It's-a me, the slow updating author! I could rattle off excuses for why it took me so long to complete this chapter, but let's just get on with the fic already!

Chapter completed: 2013.07.14

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_Chapter 8: Greater Than_

Bulma shifted Trunks in her arms to look at her watch. "It's 8:50…everyone should be arriving soon." She hadn't seen most of the Z Warriors since they'd encountered the boy from the future and he'd warned them about the events that would unfold later that day. She was eager to catch up with them and see what everyone had been doing for the past three years. Surely, most of what they had been up to involved a whole lot of training, which didn't really interest her, but it would be nice to hear their voices again nonetheless. Plus, she was curious to see everyone's reaction to her new addition, especially when she told them who was responsible for helping create her little bundle of joy. "They're gonna be so surprised to find out who your Papa is. Yes they are!" She nuzzled her face against her son's, eliciting coos and giggles from the half-Saiyan infant.

"Dammit, Bulma, what are you doing here? And with _his_ baby." A once familiar, now rarely heard voice came from above as a figure floated down toward her, touching down near her on the plateau.

"Well, nice to see you too, Yamcha. And I prefer to think of Trunks as _my_ baby, since I'm the only one raising him."

"So you're really doing it on your own, without his help at all?"

"I certainly am. Vegeta's always off doing his own thing, and he doesn't even tell anyone when he's leaving. In fact, he's barely been around the past few weeks. Not that he talks to me much when he _is_ around. I can really only tell he's gone if I notice that the food isn't disappearing from our kitchen at an inhuman rate."

Yamcha, still possessing lingering feelings for his ex-girlfriend, was somewhat relieved to learn that she wasn't in any sort of relationship with Vegeta. Though he still felt dismayed that she had hooked up with that unapologetic mass-murderer in the first place, at least she didn't seem to have any remaining attraction to him. "Anyway, never mind him, I repeat, what are _you_ doing here? Those Artificial Humans will be here in an hour. It's not safe for you here."

"They're supposed to appear in the city, so I doubt they'll be looking all the way up here. I just want to get a look at them, then I'll be on my way."

Yamcha shook his head. _Typical Bulma,_ he thought with a hint of affection. "And here I'd thought motherhood might make you a bit more responsible. Listen, these things are supposed to be the most dangerous enemies we've ever faced. You can't just treat this like some casual sightseeing trip. You're putting both of your lives at risk by staying here. You should really go home before things get dicey."

"How dare you accuse me of being irresponsible?! And I don't need you telling me what to do. It's none of your business, anyway."

"If it involves your safety, then it definitely _is_ my business."

"Well, it shouldn't be. Not anymore."

"But it is."

Bulma watched his eyes soften into a gentle gaze as he said those words. She sighed as she leaned against a large boulder. "Yamcha…I thought we'd settled this."

"A person's feelings can't just be 'settled'. You can't force yourself to stop caring about someone just because they stopped caring about you."

"I _do_ care about you, but as a person, not as a boyfriend. That's part of the reason I broke up with you when I did. We had our ups and downs over the years, but toward the end it seemed like it was sticking firmly in the 'downs'. I wanted to end it before there was nothing left but negativity. I didn't want to start hating you."

The word 'hate' stabbed at Yamcha's heart; even the mere thought that she _could_ have started hating him was painful. "I get it, Bulma. Logically, of course it makes sense that you'd break up with me after so many years of off-and-on uncertainty. The thing is, logic doesn't work to sway a person's emotions. So even if you have perfectly valid, sensible reasons for why you dumped me, you may be able to change my mind, but not my heart."

She didn't want to look at him. His heartfelt spiel was causing tears to well up in her eyes. _Dammit, why does he still have this effect on me?_

She took a deep, calming breath. Though he'd said logic couldn't change his feelings, she still had to keep this conversation in the commonsensical realm to keep herself from becoming emotionally overwhelmed. "Here's what I don't understand. If you were—or _are_ —so madly in love with me, why did you cheat on me?"

The question caught him off guard. After all the times they had broken up over his infidelity—including occasions when he hadn't actually cheated but Bulma was convinced he had—she had never actually asked him _why_. "I guess…the relationship we had was very passionate, for better and for worse. We had amazing highs surrounded by devastating lows. So there were times when I thought maybe I should find someone who could give me just happiness without the sorrow. I went out with a few different women, but they could only make me feel 'okay'. None of them made me feel as awful as I could with you, but none of them could make me feel as incredible, either. There was just…no _passion_. I've never found anyone else who has the hot, fiery passion that you do. And that's what I need, even though I know I'll get burned by those flames sometimes."

Bulma could feel some of that passion he spoke of threatening to spill out into a rage, but she tempered the flame for the benefit of the baby in her arms. She managed to speak with only a hint of irritation in her voice. "Any _sensible_ creature would get away from a fire that was burning them," she said through gritted teeth. "So you say we were passionate for better and worse. Well, if the 'worse' part is so bad that you go running off with other women to avoid it, then maybe it's too much for you to handle!"

Trunks whimpered as she began to lose control of her temper. "There, there," she said soothingly. Once he quieted down, she turned her attention back to her ex. "The fact that you sought out other women should've been your hint to _yourself_ that our relationship wasn't worth saving."

"But, as I said, no one else could ever compare to you—"

"Yeah, thanks, that makes me feel _really_ special," Bulma scoffed, cutting him off. "'Hey Bulma, I went out with some other women, but none of them were as great as you, so let's have another go at it!' Does _that_ sound like the basis for a solid relationship?"

"Look, I already told you that I understand why you broke up with me. It doesn't _matter_ ; I still can't let go of my feelings for you."

" _Why?_ " she asked plaintively.

"Because…" he hung his head and looked down at the ground, "What else do I have? You've moved on, you have even have a kid now. As for me, I've spent so many years training, but what do I have to show for it? I've been surpassed by so many guys who are outrageously stronger than me. Even that baby of yours could probably beat the crap out me. I showed up today to fight the Artificial Humans, but how much help am I going to be? With Gokuu, Gohan, Piccolo, and everyone else joining the fight, does it even matter that I'm here? I'm just…" Yamcha clenched his fists and sent one soaring into a boulder, cracking it in half. "I'm just a useless coward!"

Bulma shook her head. "A coward? I don't think so. You're _here_. A coward would've put himself on the opposite side of the world from this battle. You showed up ready to fight, even though you don't think you'll be able to do anything. That's the _opposite_ of cowardice. And a coward wouldn't have died trying to protect his planet, like you did when the Saiyans arrived. Don't sell yourself short; I wouldn't have kept dating you for so long if you were completely worthless."

He met her fierce blue eyes with surprise as she effectively pulled him out of his funk with just a few words. _She really is amazing,_ Yamcha thought wistfully. "Thanks…I needed that. I guess I've just been too hard on myself lately."

"Well, you shouldn't be. Compared to 99.9999% of the world, you're an incredibly strong fighter. It just so happens that you became friends with guys from an alien race of freakin' battle maniacs. It's not that you're too weak, it's that they're so ridiculously strong because they can hardly focus on anything else. You can invite a guy like Son to a party, but he's not likely to show up for _any_ function unless there's fighting involved. And Vegeta…" She paused, realizing that bringing up Vegeta's name during Yamcha's pep talk was only going to bring him down, even if she said something negative about the Saiyan prince. "Anyway, you're definitely a more caring and supportive friend than those guys could ever hope to be."

Yamcha noticed the hitch in her voice when she inadvertently mentioned Vegeta. That pause followed by mentions of 'care' and 'support' made him wonder if she was actually expecting such things from Vegeta. _She acts like she doesn't care about him, but is that really true?_ It wasn't a question he thought he should ask her at this time, so he pushed it to the back of his mind. "Thanks, Bulma. You really know how to cheer a guy up."

"Well, we _were_ together for sixteen years. I can't just let the man I spent half my life with put himself down. You're a good guy, Yamcha."

 _Yeah, a good guy who still doesn't have a chance with you,_ Yamcha thought to himself, though with less bitterness than he would have expected. He was resigned to the fact that she was no longer interested in him romantically, but that didn't mean they had to continue their separation from each other. "Hey, I was thinking…remember the last time we talked?"

"Yeah." How could she forget the argument that had left her so emotionally and physically drained that she'd had to rely on the fleeting mercy of Vegeta for help?

"You said…when we weren't arguing, that is…you mentioned that you'd like for us to be friends someday. Do you…still want that? I think...I might be ready now."

Bulma's eyes lit up. "Really? Yeah, of course! I've really hated not being able to talk to you all this time. I think without all the relationship drama, you and I could be really good friends."

"Yeah…me too." He wasn't nearly as sure about this new relationship dynamic as Bulma was, but he wanted to try. He had missed her terribly, and was happy to be back in her life in any capacity.

"I'm so glad." Bulma was going to give him a friendly hug, but the baby in her arms would make that difficult. Plus, she supposed she should keep things on the more casual side, lest Yamcha get the wrong idea. She held out her hand. "Let's shake on it. Friends?"

He squeezed her hand firmly. "Friends." He found himself gazing at her smiling face for longer than a friend probably should. _This might be harder than I thought._

She noticed a shadow on the ground nearby and looked up to see another Z Warrior arriving. "Oh look, here comes Tenshinhan!"

As Bulma rushed over to greet the three-eyed man descending from the sky, Yamcha tried to clear his head. _She only wants to be friends, so that's all I'll be to her. It seems she might've moved on to a certain someone else, anyway._ The thought that he had pushed aside earlier came back to the front of his mind, forcing him to ponder if something that seemed unbelievable could actually be true.

_Has she seriously developed feelings…for Vegeta?_

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 _I'm such an idiot…how did I not realize it before?_ Vegeta berated himself for missing the now obvious fact that the kid from the future was actually the older version of his infant son. He was forced into the realization when he heard Piccolo call the young man 'Trunks', but thinking back the clues should have made his parentage apparent much earlier. His Super Saiyan power, the time machine emblazoned with the Capsule Corporation logo, and especially his eyes…Bulma had complained incessantly that Trunks had inherited his father's mean-looking eyes. When Trunks first came from the future three years earlier, Vegeta had noticed that the boy's dour expression was similar to his own, but the eyes were the wrong color; at least that element of his features had been inherited from his mother. Back then, he'd been so focused on the news about the Artificial Humans that were supposed to kill them all that he hadn't given much thought to whom the messenger's parents might be. He'd figured Earthlings didn't have the technology to create a time machine any time soon, so the kid had probably come from several decades into the future…well, leave it to Bulma to prove him wrong regarding what Earthlings were capable of when it came to machines. He sometimes thought that she would have made a fine addition to the mechanical team of Freeza's army…

He shook his head. His mind was getting off track, as it often did when he allowed Bulma's presence inside of it. If he _had_ figured out who Trunks' parents were at an earlier point, he could have avoided the whole mess with Bulma. Whether he _really_ wished that none of it had ever happened was a matter he didn't care to dwell on. So many things had happened that day, and there was still much more to prepare for…

The arrival of the Artificial Humans…Gokuu falling ill to his heart virus in the middle of a fight…Vegeta testing his Super Saiyan strength against an opponent for the first time in his victorious battle against #19…and then his humiliating defeat later at the hands—or would that be mechanical appendages?— of #18. And the whirlwind of events hadn't stopped there. Now a new monster called Cell had arrived, the sixth enemy to appear on a day when only two had been expected. Not that Vegeta considered having more foes a problem; he knew he would gain the power he needed to defeat them all, and still have enough left to finally deal with Gokuu.

His son from the future, on the other hand, had serious issues with both the enemies they were facing and Vegeta's attitude. _Must be the Earthling in him, fretting over having more—and stronger—opponents than expected. A pure Saiyan would relish the challenge._ It seemed that Trunks simultaneously loathed and cared deeply for his father. He had berated Vegeta for not rescuing Bulma and his baby self, yet still repeatedly tried to prevent his father from getting into situations where he might get himself killed. Vegeta had known that Trunks wouldn't allow his mother to be harmed, so he hadn't felt the need to jump in and save her; that tactic had been an obvious ploy by Dr. Gero to make his escape during a moment of chaos, so why distract himself unnecessarily? And though he tried his best to keep Vegeta from jumping impulsively into dangerous situations, Trunks had proven he wasn't the most cool-headed individual himself when he tried to blow up Dr. Gero's laboratory without warning. _I was killed when he was a baby, so Bulma can't blame his hot-headedness on anyone but herself,_ Vegeta thought with a smirk. _And his power_ is _quite impressive. Of course, that's to be expected of any kid of mine._

However, even the power of multiple Super Saiyans wasn't enough to take down the threats they currently faced. The Artificial Humans and Cell were already incredibly powerful, and Cell intended to absorb #17 and #18 to obtain a ridiculously higher level of strength. Vegeta had no intention of stopping him from doing so, as he looked forward to testing himself against ever-stronger opponents, but he knew that at his current level he would be no match for this creature that had stolen cells from the most powerful fighters in the universe. In order to defeat this monstrous opponent, he would need to do what seemed impossible: he would have to surpass the level of Super Saiyan.

So now he stood, unmoving as the rock formation he had landed upon, trying to figure out how to make that happen. Not very long after he had arrived, he was joined by his now almost constant companion, his son from the future. He braced himself for another lecture about how he was underestimating their enemies and he needed to wait for Gokuu to heal before he did anything, but Trunks settled on a nearby rock behind him, not saying a word. Well, as long as he wasn't going to distract him, he supposed it was all right to let him stay.

Hours passed and the sun had begun to set when Vegeta was pulled out of his near meditative state by the hesitant voice of Trunks. "Do you know who I am…" There was a pointed pause before he finished his question. "…Dad?"

It sent a disturbing jolt through his senses. Baby Trunks wasn't old enough to speak yet, so this was the first time he'd been addressed by that title. "Of course I do…Trunks."

"When did you figure it out?"

"Piccolo said your name when you arrived on the battlefield. I may not be much of a father, but I at least know my own son's name."

"I see…" There was another long pause. "So is that why you didn't try to save them? Because you knew I'd do it instead?"

Obviously, he was referring to Bulma and baby Trunks being attacked by Dr. Gero. "Why are you bothering me about such insignificant incidents?"

"I'm trying to find something redeeming about you. Mom said she saw some good qualities in you, but so far I don't see any."

 _She actually had something_ good _to say about me?_ He couldn't imagine the current Bulma saying anything nice about him, especially since he had spent much more time avoiding her than being with her. Perhaps the fact that he had been dead for so long had made the future Bulma's view of him tainted with nostalgia. "So what do _you_ see?"

"An arrogant, selfish asshole."

Vegeta laughed aloud. The boy was polite to a fault with everyone else, but when faced with the less-than-ideal father he had never known, his brusqueness bubbled up to the surface. "Sorry to disappoint you, but what you see is what you get. Whatever good qualities Bulma thought she saw in me were sorely mistaken."

"It seems so."

"So, since I'm an arrogant, selfish asshole with no redeeming qualities, there's no reason for you to keep sticking around here. Go run home to your Mommy so I can continue my training in peace."

"I can't do that. You said you're going to surpass Super Saiyan. If you can do it, so can I. It's better if we work together on this."

"Not a chance. I train alone."

Trunks sighed. "I should've expected that. Mom did tell me you're a pretty lonely guy."

"There's a difference between being 'alone' and 'lonely'. The latter implies I'm dissatisfied being by myself, but it's quite the opposite." Vegeta had turned slightly toward Trunks as they'd been talking, but now completely turned his back to him. "Now get out of here before I _make_ you leave," he threatened.

"I'm not going anywhere."

Vegeta smirked. _Stubborn brat. Another trait Bulma can blame on herself,_ he thought wryly. "Well, if you insist on staying here, you must subject yourself to the same training as me."

"Which is…? I've seen you standing there for several hours now, but I don't know exactly what you're doing."

"You must stay completely still, halting the movements of your body and wanderings of your mind. Cut yourself off from any outside stimulus and search within yourself until you find it."

"Find what?"

"The _answer_. The path to surpass what was thought to be the pinnacle of our race. Well, I guess only _half_ your race."

"Even if I'm only half Saiyan, the blood I inherited from you flows powerfully through me. I've been able to become a Super Saiyan for much longer than you, so I'm probably a lot closer to surpassing it."

Vegeta wasn't sure if he was more irritated or amused by the displays of attitude spilling forth from his future son. "Well, you certainly won't get any closer to finding the way to surpass Super Saiyan if you keep mouthing off. Now sit down and shut up before I change my mind about letting you stay." He half-expected that Trunks would continue to pepper him with questions and/or insults, but he complied with his father's request and didn't say another word.

Both father and son descended into deep contemplative states. The sun set and rose again, and still neither had moved. However, as time continued to pass by, Vegeta noted that sometimes he could sense Trunks' ki and other times it was absent. _The kid thinks he can easily surpass Super Saiyan, but he can't go a day or two without food and water? How naïve._ Vegeta tried not to dwell too much on what was happening around him, though; finding the way to surpass his current limits was far more important.

Even after remaining on that boulder for three days, Vegeta still didn't feel much closer to finding the answer he sought. _While I'm standing around here, Cell is out there gaining more and more power. Dammit…I need more time!_

Before he had a chance to relish in his frustration, Gokuu, freshly recovered from his illness, arrived and told Vegeta of a way to get the precious training time he needed: The Room of Spirit and Time, a mystical place where he could get an entire year's worth of training, even as only one day of time would pass outside of the room. A distraction-free environment where there was nothing to do but focus on increasing his power. It was exactly what he needed.

Within an hour of hearing about the place for the first time, Vegeta and Trunks found themselves inside the oppressive environment of the Room of Spirit and Time. Though the Saiyan prince would have preferred to go into the room by himself, because of time constraints he had ended up being accompanied by his son from the future. As long as the kid didn't bother him too much, he supposed it wouldn't be so bad. The place appeared to be wasteland that stretched out to infinity in every direction, so it would be simple enough to avoid making contact.

Trunks seemed to understand his father's need for solitary training and mostly kept to himself during their initial weeks in the room. They occasionally interacted when both of them ended up in the common living area at the same time, though since there was no distinct difference between night and day inside the room, even their sleep schedules didn't always match up. They were both Saiyans, though, so each of them typically had several meals per day, especially on days when they subjected themselves to merciless physical training. Their conversations during any overlapping meals—if they talked at all—were typically terse.

Trunks still appeared to look at Vegeta with no small amount of disdain. Vegeta hadn't done anything to redeem himself in his eyes, so it was no surprise that his view of his father hadn't changed. As for Vegeta's view of his future son, he was finding him to be more of a distraction than he had originally thought he might be. It wasn't anything Trunks himself was doing, since he'd mostly honored Vegeta's demand that they train separately. It was more Trunks' existence itself that threw him off, the fact that the child he had accidentally fathered with Bulma was there acting as this constant _reminder_ of what had happened between them. In their brief interactions, there was always something about the things he said, or certain traits of his personality, or even just _looking_ at him and noticing the features he shared with Bulma that would make Vegeta think of her. He didn't like it; he had come here to train his body and mind to go beyond his limits, not reminisce about the woman who had thrown his life off track. He decided to employ his usual method for forgetting about things he didn't want to think about: avoidance.

For several weeks, he stayed away from the common area anytime he sensed Trunks' ki within its vicinity. The nature of the room sometimes made it difficult to determine his son's proximity, though, so there were occasions when he even slept out in the harsh, bright environment just to avoid the risk of encountering him. Within a few weeks, he finally overcame the wall and surpassed Super Saiyan, but even after that, he still spent a couple more weeks in solitude before he figured he could relax just a bit and stop actively avoiding Trunks. He still had many more months to perfect this new form, after all, so there was little point in subjecting his body to overly harsh punishment.

He bathed upon his return to the living area, and when he stepped out of the bath, he saw Trunks sitting at the table eating a meal—breakfast, lunch, dinner? It was hard to tell when day and night looked exactly the same.

"Dad! Where have you been? I haven't seen you in weeks. I was worr…I was wondering where you went."

Vegeta chuckled inwardly. _Trying to hide his concern for me? Does he think that's the best way to impress a heartless Saiyan warrior?_ Though he noticed Trunks' obvious cover up, he chose not to call him out on it. "Out there, in the never-ending expanse of whiteness. Where else could I have gone?"

"You were just gone for so long, I thought you could've gotten hurt, or even…" He stopped himself before finishing that thought. "I could feel your ki sometimes, so I knew you were out there somewhere, but there were other times when I couldn't sense anything and didn't know what happened to you. Why didn't you come back here?"

"I have been back occasionally, just not when you were here. But I mostly stayed out there so I could do what needed to be done."

"And you succeeded?"

"Obviously, or else I'd still be out there." Vegeta joined his son at the table, grabbing a loaf of bread and consuming most of it in a couple bites. "Did you?"

"Yeah. But it only happened a couple days ago, so I still need to work on controlling it better. Good thing we still have lots of time left."

The dueling thoughts of, _Of course he could do it, he's_ my _kid_ and, _I can't believe he's this strong!_ sounded through Vegeta's head simultaneously. A familiar feeling was manifesting itself in an unfamiliar way: for the first time, he was feeling pride in something other than his own accomplishments. But why should he feel moved like this just because his son had achieved something incredible? It disturbed him, and he brushed those feelings aside in order to respond to Trunks in his normal dismissive manner. "You'll need all the time you can get to keep yourself from being completely useless in the next battle. Not that I'll need your help, or anyone else's."

"Right…" Trunks' expression turned sullen at his father's words. He certainly hadn't been expecting praise from Vegeta, but it was disheartening to have his achievements diminished by the father he had longed to know his entire life.

There was silence for several minutes as both of them continued to eat. Vegeta had discovered, once again, that merely being in Trunks' presence made him think about the boy's mother. There was a curiosity that had been nagging at his mind ever since the day Trunks had returned from the future. "What did she tell you about me?"

The complete lack of context for the question confused Trunks. "Huh?"

"Bulma. You said before that she'd told you some things about me. What did she say?" He specifically wanted to know about the mythical positive qualities Bulma had supposedly seen in him.

"Well, she didn't like to talk about you much. Maybe she didn't want to disappoint me with the truth. But when I asked her to tell me about you, she said you were powerful, prideful, stern, lonesome, and…" He shook his head, already dismissing the words he was about to say. "And that you had a tender side that you didn't like to show."

" _Tender_?" Vegeta scoffed, nearly choking on a piece of fruit. "Where the hell did she get that idea?"

"Maybe she made it up just so she'd have one nice thing to say about you." However, thinking back to the almost pained expression on his mother's face when she'd said those words, she clearly hadn't believed it was a lie.

They sat in silence as Vegeta pondered future Bulma's assessment of him. Why would she think he had a hidden tender side? Sure, he had comforted her a couple of times, like when they had attended her friend's wedding and she became upset after talking to Yamcha, or when he'd given her some of his ki when she was too exhausted to move. But he had only done those things because her distress was irritating to him, not because he was _concerned_ for her or anything. Everything he did was only for his own benefit, nothing more.

Though Vegeta and Trunks had an entire year to train in the Room of Spirit and Time, the time passed much more quickly than either one of them expected. Both increased their strength substantially, constantly working on how to best utilize the power that came with the form that surpassed Super Saiyan. In the final weeks, Vegeta noticed that Trunks would disappear for long periods at a time, probably training at a great distance from the living area. It seemed he was intentionally avoiding letting his father sense his ki. Perhaps the kid was working on some big finishing move that he wanted to keep secret until he unleashed it on an opponent. Not that he would have any chance to do that, since Vegeta intended to eliminate any remaining threats on his own. He was confident that his power was enough to take down any opponent, including—finally, and especially—Gokuu.

More than a year had passed when the two emerged from the room, reentering a world where barely more than a day had gone by. Gokuu and Gohan were waiting to enter, and as Trunks began to tell them about the experience they'd had inside, Vegeta stopped him. No need to give his biggest rival any sort of advantage. Just as he finished telling Gokuu how unnecessary it was for him to train because Vegeta would take care of everything, a familiar feminine voice pierced the air. Bulma had arrived, and Vegeta felt a bit thrown off because he hadn't been expecting her to show up. For him, it had been over a year since he'd seen her. And the first thing she said to him after all that time was some silly question about his hair. The inanity of the conversation, plus his own frustration at himself for being secretly pleased to see her again caused him to yell at her and demand to know why she had come. Once he found out she had brought new armor for everyone, he changed his clothes, made a few more boasts to anyone who was listening, and flew off toward the place where he sensed the immense power of Cell.

 _I was only happy to see her because she brought me new armor,_ Vegeta thought to himself as he soared through the sky. _But you didn't know she had the armor when she first showed up_ , another part of his mind mocked him. It had been a year and a half—two and a half years to him, after the year-long day he'd experienced—since he had temporarily tossed aside his solitude and allowed himself to connect to Bulma for a brief moment. It was getting more difficult over time to convince himself that his feelings were merely a leftover effect from that one night and would eventually disappear. Especially after spending a year with Trunks, who affected him much more strongly than his present timeline infant equivalent. The baby Trunks wasn't old enough yet to talk or show much of a personality; really, all he ever did when Vegeta came near was cry his head off, which Bulma claimed was entirely Vegeta's own fault. The grown version of Trunks, on the other hand, was a clear combination of both Bulma's traits and his own. In addition, despite the harsh future he had come from, he had turned into both a powerful warrior and an admirable young man. Somehow, two selfish individuals had created this selfless boy who traveled back in time to prevent a terrible future. The credit for that had to go to Bulma, who must have matured greatly in the destructive world she had raised their son in.

Vegeta shook his head. Since when did he care about any kind of heroics? What mattered was power, and he was currently overflowing with it, ready to unleash it upon the first enemy he saw. It was not the time to dwell on Bulma or Trunks and the effect they had on him. The fact that they mattered to him at all was an unsettling acknowledgement to make.

All his thoughts were pushed aside as he approached the green monster floating in the sky. No more time to wonder about his son or one-time lover or any other such frivolous distractions. It was time for battle.

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Author's notes: Well, I did it again. I said I'd finish the next chapter/entire fanfic within a certain timeframe, and I once again failed to deliver on that promise. It must be frustrating for readers…I'm sorry! I'm fed up with my own procrastination, as well. But as always, I'll keep chugging along until I complete this sucker.

As of this chapter, this has officially become my longest fanfic. When I started it, I thought it would be fairly short, but I'm always terrible at predicting the length of my own stories. More scenes keep demanding to be written as I go along! Or scenes that I thought would be short end up stretching enough to fill an entire chapter (like the scenes in this chapter…I didn't expect that just those two sequences would take 6,000 words!) Though this is supposed to be a Vegeta/Bulma fanfic, those two really had only the bare minimum of interaction in this chapter, didn't they? Well, the final chapter will more than make up for it ^_^

Also, now that I've reached the point in the story when it's no longer in the time gap and is actually taking place in the series proper, I'm kind of briefly skimming over some scenes from the series. Sorry if it's a bit lazy, but I didn't want to waste much time describing and transcribing scenes everyone already knows. I'm more focused on the inner thoughts of the characters involved in those scenes, rather than reiterating content that's already plain to see.

So, am I gonna get better about making timely updates? Well, I realized recently that I started writing this fic 6 years ago. Holy shit, that's waaaaay too long for a fic that isn't even all that long. Though I'd like to promise a completion date, you know if you've read my previous end-of-chapter notes that any dates I give are nothing but lies, filthy lies! So I'll do my best, and hopefully my best won't be painfully slow for once ^_^ See you next chapter!


	9. Equal

It's time…to r-r-r-read. The next chapter, that is. The _final_ chapter, no less! Enjoy it, folks. It's been a loooong time in the making.

Chapter completed: 2014.06.20

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_Chapter 9: Equal_

Another day, another humiliating defeat. The losses Vegeta had suffered against the Artificial Humans delivered a devastating blow against his pride that hurt more than any physical injuries he'd sustained. Sure, he could have easily defeated Cell in his incomplete form, but where was the fun in beating an opponent who wasn't fighting at his best? He had let Cell attain his perfect form, believing he would still have the upper hand no matter how much power Cell gained from absorbing #18. Obviously, he had been wrong about that, and he'd promptly had his ass handed to him following Cell's transformation. Even though Vegeta had reached the pinnacle of his race—and even gone above that—this synthetic monster still had power far beyond his reach.

Even more maddening was the fact that Cell was literally treating his battle against them like a game. He had appeared on television to announce the Cell Games, a tournament for the fate of the world. Vegeta didn't give a damn about saving the Earth, but he needed to enter that tournament to avenge his wounded pride. Cell would pay dearly for making a mockery of his Saiyan power.

Immediately after viewing Cell's worldwide broadcast, Vegeta headed toward his bedroom to change into his battle armor. As he walked purposefully down the hallway, he hadn't noticed that Bulma had followed until she called out to him. "Vegeta, wait a minute."

He stopped, but didn't turn around to face her. "What do you want? I'm busy."

"I know, but I just wanted to talk to you before you ran off again. Seems like you're always coming or going somewhere and I never get to see you off."

Of course, that was true because he was frequently avoiding her on purpose, but he was somewhat surprised that she had actually _wanted_ to see him. "Well, spit it out then. I'm in a hurry," he said impatiently.

His dismissive attitude was quickly grating on Bulma's nerves. She had wanted to send him off on a positive note, but apparently having a pleasant experience with this man was nearly impossible. "Jeez, chill out! You're going back into that crazy room again, right? You'll still have a whole year to train even if you spend just one minute talking to me. Anyway, Trunks told me about that time room, and it sounds terrible. I mean, an entire year with no TV or anything? I'd go bonkers in the first week!" She could sense Vegeta's impatience growing even with his back turned to her, so she hurried on to the point she wanted to make. "But besides being a total bore to anyone who's not a battle maniac, it also sounds really dangerous. I want to make sure you and Trunks are being careful in there. You have to watch out for each other, not disappear for weeks at a time like he said you did before. What if one of you gets hurt? Or worse…" She trailed off, not wanting to dwell on that thought. "So you have to promise you'll look after each other better this time, okay? I couldn't take it if something awful happened…to _either_ of you."

That she would express concern for Trunks' wellbeing was a matter of course, but it was quite a shock for Bulma to say that she was worried about Vegeta as well. What had he ever done to make her care about him? "I'm not looking out for anyone but myself. I'm going in alone this time." He couldn't deal with the distraction of his son tagging along again, not when Cell had become so much stronger.

"Are you crazy?! That's _way_ too reckless, even for you! I've seen the way you train; you always push yourself too hard. It's like you don't know your own limits."

"I _have_ no limits. What kind of warrior would I be if I were satisfied with the level I'd reached and stopped trying to go higher? There's always another wall to be scaled."

"And what if you fall off that wall with no one there to catch you? What does all that training amount to if you die because you're too stubborn to accept anyone's help?"

Vegeta started to turn around to face her as his irritation grew. "If you think I'm—" Both his words and movements were cut off as Bulma lunged forward and wrapped her arms around him from behind. Several moments of silence passed as Vegeta stood stunned by her sudden embrace.

"I know you think you're invincible…" Bulma began, her face resting on his shoulder, "And I know you'll never stop trying to be the best. I guess that's one of your better qualities, scary as it may be sometimes." She paused with a small chuckle. "You could say that single-minded determination is something we have in common. No one can stop us from going after what we want. So I know it's useless to tell you not to do something you've already decided on. Just don't overdo it and get yourself killed needlessly. Trunks came back in time to prevent the horror that humanity went through from happening again. He saved so many lives, including yours. So please…don't throw away the life he saved."

He raised a hand to where one of Bulma's hands was clutching his chest, intending to swat her away and continue on his way. Instead, he ended up resting his hand upon hers. "I would never throw my life away needlessly. I can't take out my opponents if I'm dead, can I? A Saiyan who can't even survive his own training regimen is beyond worthless. So don't underestimate me." He had turned his head slightly toward the shoulder where her face was resting. She was close enough that he could feel her breath upon his cheek.

"I would never. I know how incredible you are at what you do. I just wish you'd rely on the help of others sometimes. You don't have to stand at the top all by yourself."

"I prefer it that way."

"Do you really?" she asked softly. Considering the intimate pose they were currently in, it was hard to declare that he preferred solitude. He became uncomfortably aware of the close proximity they were sharing: her arms wrapped gently but firmly around him, her breasts pressing against his back, her face close enough that their lips could touch without much effort.

"Hey Bulma, did you see…oh." The voice of Yamcha sounded from behind them, causing them to quickly break apart. An awkward silence ensued for a few moments as none of the three could think of what to do or say next.

"I'm going now," Vegeta, his face now a light shade of red, sputtered as he continued down the hallway, now more eager than ever to hurry back to the Room of Spirit and Time and put this baffling situation out of his mind.

After Vegeta's departure, silence continued for a bit longer between the former couple until Yamcha gathered the nerve to ask a question he had been pondering for the past several days. "I probably don't want to know the answer to this, but…is there something going on between you two?"

"Like I told you before, it was just a one time thing with Vegeta. Nothing else has happened since then."

"What I just saw didn't look like 'nothing'."

Bulma sighed and crossed her arms. "I just wanted to see him off before he ran away to do his crazy training again. I was worried he might take it too far, so I was giving him some advice before he left."

"Right, because you normally drape yourself all over someone when giving them advice."

"That was…I don't know, it just ended up happening. When I realized he could get himself killed if he's not careful, I felt like I wanted to _protect_ him somehow. I know it sounds stupid, since I obviously can't stop him from doing anything."

"I don't think it's stupid to want to protect someone you care about." He made the statement mainly to bait her into saying whether she cared about Vegeta or not.

Bulma bit her lip as she hesitated in her response to the implication of Yamcha's statement. Clearly, he was trying to see if she would admit to having feelings for Vegeta, but was this a conversation she really wanted to be having with her ex-boyfriend? She chose a fairly non-committal response. "I guess so."

Yamcha saw that she was not willing to volunteer any information, so he would have to be blunter in his approach. "Do you love him?"

Bulma balked at his directness. "Wow, that sounds like something that's none of your business. Why would you even ask me that?"

"Because the way you looked at him as he was leaving…it's the same way you used to look at me."

She really had no idea how to respond to that observation. Truthfully, she wasn't completely sure what her feelings were toward the father of her child. She certainly cared for him, but his standoffish nature made it difficult for her to feel too close to him. "It's really awkward to discuss this with you. After all the years we dated, it's just too weird to talk to you about my relationship with someone else…though I'm not even sure I can _call_ it a relationship."

"If you get caught up in our history, then yeah, it's weird to talk about this. But we agreed to be friends, right? So let's keep our past where it belongs and move forward." Yamcha also felt quite uncomfortable having this conversation with her, but he genuinely wanted to know if she was satisfied with her current situation.

"As long as you're okay with it…"

Yamcha nodded. "You said you weren't sure if what you have with Vegeta counts as a relationship. So the question is, do you _want_ it to be?"

Such a simple question, yet the answer was more complicated than a mere yes or no. "I'm not sure. I mean, I _do_ care about him, despite all his flaws."

"The Bulma I know doesn't hesitate to go after what she wants, consequences be damned. You threw yourself headfirst into our relationship knowing I was a bandit. Of course, Vegeta's crimes are a lot worse than mine, but I don't think that's what's holding you back."

"You're right. I know he's done terrible, unforgivable things, but his past doesn't matter to me."

"So what's stopping you?"

"Because I have no idea if he cares about me or not. Anytime I feel like we might be getting a bit closer, he disappears. And I can't tell if that's his way of saying he doesn't want that, or if he's afraid of letting something happen, or really what the hell he's thinking at all. He's so distant, like he's put up a wall between himself and everyone else. Over the past couple years, I've seen tiny hints of humanity from him; occasional small gestures that indicated he might care about me. But they're so few and far between, I have to wonder if they're just flukes. So maybe if I saw some real proof that he gives a damn about anyone but himself, I might actually let myself fall for him!"

Bulma had been getting quite worked up as she vented her pent up feelings, so Yamcha put his hands on her shoulders to calm her. "Listen to me. The fact that you're so frustrated right now shows me you really are serious about him. It doesn't matter if I don't understand what you see in him, or even if no one else in the world—including Vegeta himself—understands it. If you believe there's something in him that makes him worthy of having you, then I'll trust you and believe it's there, too."

Bulma was stunned that the man who had once berated her for her one night stand with Vegeta now seemed completely supportive of her having a relationship with him. "Wow. You must've had a big change of opinion about Vegeta to say something like that."

"Don't get me wrong, I still think the guy's an asshole. I'm certainly not gonna become best buddies with him or anything. But if you think you might find happiness with him, then that's good enough. I just hope he's capable of being all you want him to be."

"Well, he's far too disagreeable to become _all_ I'd like him to be. But thanks for your support. I know this must be hard for you…"

Yamcha shook his head. "Don't worry about me, I'm over it now. As your friend, I'm glad to see you move on with your life."

Bulma smiled. "Well, I should be heading on back to the lab now. Papa and I are fixing up #16. Hopefully he'll be able to help beat that Cell monster when he's operational again. Want to come along?"

"No, I should do some training. Not that I'll be much help against Cell, what with all the Saiyans we'll have."

Bulma rolled her eyes. "Yeah, you can rely on those battle-crazy brutes when it comes to a fight, but good luck getting them to do anything else. See you around."

"See you." Once Bulma had walked out of sight, Yamcha found himself letting out a sigh. It was true that he was over her, and was okay with seeing her move on, but despite his outward show of support, he didn't have quite as much faith in Vegeta as he let on. True, it had been a long time since he'd witnessed the Saiyan prince doing something overtly evil, but a mere lack of bad did not necessarily mean goodness had replaced it. He had to trust that Bulma's instincts were right and there was a caring man hidden somewhere under the shroud of pride and arrogance Vegeta cloaked himself in.

_Don't you dare disappoint her._

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 _Damn you, Kakarrot. How dare you go and die like that, when we'd never even had our rematch?_ The Prince of the Saiyans was leaning against the railing of the large outdoor balcony at Capsule Corporation, feeling defeated even though victory had been won against Cell. It was maddening that, despite all his years of training, he'd been reduced to merely helping from the sidelines. He'd been completely outclassed by father and son alike, and now he would never have the chance to settle the score against the greatest rival he had ever known. When he left the battlefield, Vegeta had declared that he would never fight again, but what else was the Saiyan warrior to do with himself? His entire life had been dedicated to increasing his power and fighting battles. Lacking the motivation to continue those pursuits, what else was left for him?

There was an obvious answer, but it tough for him to admit that it was a valid option. How could one of the greatest warriors the universe had ever known accept a peaceful life of settling down with a family on some backwater planet? Yet, as ridiculous as it sounded, there was something appealing about the idea. He had been preparing for battle so intensely for so many years, it might not be bad to relax for a while. And rather than avoiding them as distractions, he could spend time with Bulma and Trunks…admitting to himself that he actually wanted to do that was the hardest part of all, but after what he'd been through that day it was impossible to deny his feelings anymore.

The image of Trunks dying played over and over in his head. The devastation he'd felt at the moment Cell killed his son in front of him had been even worse than the previous lowest moment of his life, back when he'd realized that he was powerless against Freeza. The sorrowful rage that had exploded within him was different from anything he'd felt before, causing him to act before he could even think. As Kuririn had said shortly after Vegeta's failed attempt to take out Cell, Trunks could be revived by the Dragon Balls, so there was no need waste energy avenging him. But all rationality had left him in that moment, and all he could think of was making Cell pay for taking the life of his son. He'd had no idea that such strong emotions had been hiding inside of him, and now that they'd been brought to the surface, Vegeta was forced into realizing how much Trunks and Bulma both meant to him.

Meanwhile, inside the living room of Capsule Corporation, Yamcha and Trunks had returned from the battlefield and were explaining all that had occurred at the Cell Games to Bulma. Baby Trunks slept peacefully in her arms through their description of the brutal battle everyone had endured. By the end, tears were slowly trickling down her cheeks.

"That Son, it's so like him to recklessly sacrifice himself to save everyone. I feel just awful for Chichi and Gohan." Her lip quivered as she looked up at Trunks. "And you getting killed, I can't even…" She handed baby Trunks off to Yamcha as she rushed forward and threw her arms around the older version of her son. "Thank god you're okay. I don't know what I—well, the me of the future—would do without you."

Trunks patted her on the back. "It's okay, Mom. I'm all right now."

"I'm so glad."

"I'm sure you're not the only one who's glad Trunks made it through," Yamcha suggested. "A certain someone attacked Cell in a rage when he saw his son get killed."

Bulma looked over to Yamcha, a shocked look registering on her face. "What? Vegeta did that?"

"Yeah, he was the angriest I've ever seen him. And for a guy as prone to fits of rage as Vegeta, that's saying something."

"Is it true?" She turned to look at Trunks again. "Trunks, did he really do that?"

"Uh, I wouldn't know…I was dead."

Yamcha chuckled. "It's true, you can ask the others when they come here tomorrow." Before he'd even finished talking, Bulma had taken baby Trunks from his arms, thrust the child into the arms of his older self, and pulled Yamcha into a firm embrace.

"Thank you," she whispered. "Thank you, that's exactly what I needed to hear."

"No problem. Now, go get him."

Bulma laughed softly. "Not sure it'll be quite that easy, but I appreciate the vote of confidence."

Bulma's mother walked into a scene that included her daughter hugging her ex-boyfriend as both present and future versions of her son looked on, but she paid no mind to any of it. "Oh, there you all are. Would you like some snacks? I've got a tray ready to go in the kitchen, let me go fetch it for you. Could you give me a hand, Bulma?"

"Sure." She retrieved her baby and headed out the door with her mother.

"Uh…what just happened here?" Trunks asked uncertainly.

"You helped your parents get back together."

Trunks could do nothing but stare back in hopeless confusion.

"So…" Bulma's mother began as they walked down the hall, a mischievous tone apparent in her voice. "What's going on with you and Yamcha?"

"Nothing at all, we're just friends now. I was thanking him for helping me out."

"Oh, what did he help you with?"

"A decision."

"What kind of decision?"

Bulma was getting irritated with the prying questions. Just because she had decided she wanted to pursue an actual relationship with Vegeta, it didn't mean he would automatically agree to it. But giving her even a hint of what was going on would result in her mother planning a wedding for them. She wanted to give an answer that hid as much as possible while looking like she wasn't hiding anything at all. "I just…had trouble deciding…what to do about…" As she haltingly searched for words, her eyes darted over toward the sliding glass doors they were passing. She noticed a figure out on the balcony, causing her to inadvertently reveal what she was thinking about "…him."

"Him?" The matron of Capsule Corporation squinted through the glass. "Oh, Veggie! So what did you decide about him?" She gasped and squealed, "Are you giving me more grandbabies?!"

Bulma nearly fell over. "Jeez, Mama, you're getting waaaay ahead of yourself! I just need to talk to him. Could you take Trunks for a while?"

"Oh, I'll take him for the rest of the night. You just do _whatever_ you need to do." One of her eyes opened and closed again in a wink.

She gritted her teeth as she handed over her son. "It's…not…like…that. I'll come get Trunks in a little while." Her mother was clearly not listening as she practically skipped down the hallway, telling her little grandson all about the beautiful wedding his parents were going to be having.

Bulma took a deep breath to clear her mind of her mother's antics as she slid open the glass door and made her way over to the railing Vegeta was leaning against. She looked up to the stars, not sure how she should start this conversation. She certainly couldn't rely on Vegeta to start talking without any prompting. It would probably be best to start by discussing something else and somehow turn it into the talk she wanted to have. "Hard to believe he's really gone."

Vegeta snorted. "Dying a heroic death that turned out to be useless. A disgrace to the Saiyan race."

"It must be hard on you. There's so few of you left."

"I'm the _only_ one left. The prince of an extinct race."

"They may not be pure-blooded like you, but Trunks and Gohan still count as Saiyans. You don't need to make yourself into some lone wolf who's lost his pack. You have…a family." She looked toward him, and though he could feel her eyes upon him, he refused to look back. "I heard about what happened to Trunks today. I don't even want to imagine how horrible it must have been, having to witness that. And I heard it made you react in a way I wasn't even sure you were capable of, a way that showed you actually cared about someone else."

She seemed to be waiting for a response from him, but there was no way he could acknowledge what she was saying, even if it was true. He continued to stare straight ahead into the city lights, waiting to see if she would continue.

"I've been struggling to figure you out the past couple years. It's been hard to tell what you're thinking. Even though there were times when I saw signs that you might care about me, they happened so infrequently. I couldn't tell if those gestures were an indication of what you really felt, or just things you did out of pity. But knowing that you were devastated at the death of our son tells me all I need to know. I finally know that this family actually means something to you, and I feel like I can just…let myself fall in love with you."

"Are you stupid?" He finally looked at her, his eyes widened in astonishment. Never had he imagined anyone would use the word 'love' in connection with him.

"Excuse me?!" She definitely hadn't expected that her heartfelt confession would result in an insult against her intelligence.

"Love is a weakness, a distraction that keeps you from reaching your goals. Only an idiot would willingly fall into such a trap."

 _I'm dealing with an emotionally stunted man who doesn't even know what love is. Great._ Bulma put her hands on her hips. "Don't tell me about love like you know what you're talking about. It's not a weakness, it gives you strength, and enriches your life. And loved ones don't distract you from your goals, they motivate you to push even further. Jeez, who told you this stuff? What, were you Saiyans not allowed to fall in love?"

"No, I just genuinely never gave a shit about anyone before." The 'before' slipped out before he could stop it, and he hoped Bulma wouldn't pick up on it.

She, of course, picked it up immediately. "Oh, so since you never gave a shit about anyone _before_ , do you mean to imply that you do now?"

"I didn't _mean_ to imply it," he grumbled under his breath.

Bulma sighed. "So is that the best I can get from you? Can't help but feel a bit unsatisfied with that. Here I am, confessing my feelings for you, while you can only accidentally imply that you feel something for me. I guess you _showed_ you cared on the battlefield, but it'd be nice to hear you actually _say_ something for once."

Vegeta rolled his eyes. "You want to know what I think?" He turned his gaze up toward the heavens. "You…confuse me." It was the most honest answer he could give her. "You were raised on a planet full of idiots. Can you believe they're actually stupid enough to think some showoff blowhard is their savior?" he scoffed as he recalled the chants of 'Satan!' rising from each city as he flew back from the battlefield. "But you're different somehow. Obviously, you have superior technological abilities compared to other Earthlings—compared to many alien species, actually—but there's something besides intelligence that sets you apart. I suppose you have a number of admirable qualities, but you can also irritate the hell out of me. Despite that, there's just something… _appealing_ about you. But I can't figure out what makes you so damn special that you stay lodged in my mind."

Bulma lunged toward him, nearly knocking him off balance as she threw her arms around him. He stood stunned and motionless for a moment, then slowly raised his arms from his sides and wrapped them around her waist. He didn't understand why his words had caused her to suddenly embrace him, but he wasn't going to discourage her.

Bulma smiled broadly as she buried her face in his shoulder. Though Vegeta obviously didn't know how to express his emotions, it was clear that he did feel something for her, even if he wouldn't be able to define it as 'like' or 'love'. "I understand." Vegeta had no clue how she could know what he was saying when he didn't even know himself, but he continued to hold her regardless.

Yamcha and Trunks, having finished the snacks Bulma's mother had brought to them, were walking down the hallway on their way to their guest rooms. Yamcha paused when he noticed a pair of figures out on the balcony, nudging Trunks with his elbow. "See, what did I tell you? That explains why your grandma was so giddy when she dropped off those snacks, and why Bulma didn't come back with her."

Trunks peered through the glass. "Wow. You were right. Wonder what Mom will think when I tell her about _this._ "

"If the future Bulma is anything like the current one, she'll probably be surprised, but pretend like she knew it'd happen all along."

Trunks laughed. "Yeah, that sure sounds like her."

Yamcha chuckled. "All right, let's get going. I'm sure they'd _both_ try to kill us if they caught us spying." He took one last glance over his shoulder as they headed away from the door, a slightly pensive smile on his face. _You'd better make her happy._

Bulma eventually loosened her grip, leaning back so she could look Vegeta in the eye. "I've been thinking...it's really a shame that Trunks had to grow up in a future without you. It's obvious that he'd longed to know you all his life. And maybe you didn't turn out to be all he'd hoped for, but I think he's glad he got to know you. I know I said before that I didn't need you to be involved with our son's life, but I don't think that'd be right anymore. It would be even more of a shame for our baby to grow up without you when you're alive and well. I'd like for you to stick around so we can all be together as a family. So…will you stay?"

Before, he had spent most of his time away from her, trying to keep her from becoming too much of a distraction to his training. Now that he had vowed never to fight again, there was no reason to leave for weeks or months at a time; his new purpose could be right here in front of him. "I don't have anywhere else I need to be," he said in a soft tone, meeting her gaze unwaveringly.

Bulma smiled gently and leaned forward to place her lips upon Vegeta's. He returned the kiss hesitantly at first, still questioning in his mind whether it was acceptable to allow himself to fall into such a mundane lifestyle. Fighting was likely too much in his blood for him to stop forever, but for now, it was all right to let himself relax and enjoy a different way of life. He kissed her back with gusto, gripping her tighter and pressing their bodies closer together.

She was still beaming as she pulled her face away from his. "I know you're not used to this relationship stuff. You don't have to start calling yourself my boyfriend or anything; we can take it slow and not worry about labeling it as anything right now. We'll just be…together." They kissed again, in a markedly more passionate manner than before. Once Bulma had freed her tongue from Vegeta's mouth, she struggled to catch her breath in order to speak again. "Then again, 'taking it slow' doesn't really suit either of our styles. Maybe we should head inside. It's been, what, a year and a half since either of us...you know, had some _real_ fun?"

"It might've been a year and a half for you, but not for me."

"Oh really?" Bulma said flatly, her expression darkening. Sure, they hadn't been a couple in the interim, but the thought that he had been with someone else immediately set her jealousy aflame.

"It's been _three_ and a half years for me," Vegeta clarified.

Realizing that he had been referring to the time he spent in the Room of Spirit and Time, Bulma settled down. "Well, that sounds like a problem we need to fix as soon as possible." She grabbed his hand and led him inside, but paused once they entered as she remembered something. "Dammit…she was right," Bulma muttered to herself. "Wait a sec, I need to take care of something first."

She paged for her mother over the intercom and soon had her on the line. "Hey. Um…could you do me a favor and—"

"I'm getting Trunks into his jammies, and he's all ready to spend the night with Grammy and Grampy," Bulma's mother interrupted, already assuming what her daughter would be asking her to do. "Don't you worry about a thing, just have fun tonight."

"Uh, thanks. See you in the morning." She was both slightly irritated and relieved at her mother's meddling. She turned to Vegeta after hanging up. "Well, apparently someone knew this was going to happen even before we did, so Trunks is taken care of for tonight. Let's—" Before she could even finish talking, Vegeta had picked her up and started moving through the hallways at super speed. She clinched tightly to him, trying not to let the dizzying speed get to her.

Her head was spinning as he came to a stop in front of his room. Once the door had closed behind them, he began kissing her roughly, chucking his armor aside and tearing both of their clothing to shreds in his haste to remove them as they stumbled toward the bed. She soon found herself lying on the bed with Vegeta over her, appearing poised to insert himself into her. "Whoa, um, aren't you moving a bit fast?"

"What?" Vegeta huffed impatiently. She was the one who had suggested they do this as soon as possible, so why was she complaining about the pacing?

"You're kinda skipping all the…you know, preparation?"

Vegeta stared blankly at her. Bulma rolled her eyes. "Do I have to spell it out for you? Foreplay!" Seeing not a single hint of comprehension on his face, she sighed with exasperation. "Really? No one's _ever_ told you this? Man, I feel sorry for everyone you've slept with before." She squinted, looking suspicious. "How many women have you been with, anyway?"

"Hundreds," he lied, keeping his expression flat. He had no idea if the number sounded plausible, but at least it seemed impressive.

"Really? I doubt that."

"Fine, you got me. Dozens."

"I don't think so." She was putting the pieces together in her mind. She knew he had no experience with relationships, and had seemed uncomfortable even with hugging back when they had attended her friend's wedding. "I think it's lower…a _lot_ lower than that. Like, just one." He stared straight ahead, neither confirming nor denying her suspicion. But Bulma could tell she had figured out the truth by his refusal to acknowledge her statement. "So when we did it last time, you were…a virgin?"

There wasn't much point in denying it now that she had figured it out. "So what?"

"Oh my god, that's…" She was interrupted by her own giggles. "That's so…" Her giggles erupted into full-blown laughter.

"Am I missing something funny?" Vegeta snarled, quickly becoming irritated at her apparent mocking of him.

She calmed down enough to speak. "Sorry, I'm not making fun of you. I just can't even imagine staying a virgin into my thirties. I would've died of boredom!" She reached up and stroked his face. "I think it's cute."

Vegeta growled. If there was one word he never wished to be described as, it was 'cute'.

"I should consider it an honor, really. The Prince of the Saiyans, saving himself especially for me!"

"Don't flatter yourself." Vegeta scoffed. "I wasn't particularly _saving_ myself for someone. I planned to never get involved with anyone because it would distract me from my training. Clearly, I was right about that."

"Well, instead of this being a distraction from your training, it can _become_ your new training," she said, smirking seductively. "I guess I'm lucky that you don't have experience. It means you don't have any bad habits that need to be broken. I can train you to do exactly what I want." Before he could protest being turned into her personal plaything, she had locked lips with him again and begun maneuvering their bodies so he was on his back and she was sitting on top of him. She grabbed his hands and placed them on her breasts. "Now, time to begin your first training session. These are boobs. They play a very important role in getting a woman ready for sex."

His face was turning red from both embarrassment and anger. Not only did he find her frank explanation crude and rather vulgar, but she was treating him like he was stupid. He was reminded that one reason he'd hidden his inexperience was because he knew she could be very condescending. "Don't patronize me. I figured it out well enough last time, didn't I?" He looked directly at her as he rubbed his thumbs against her nipples, feeling them harden as he watched her face scrunch up with pleasure.

"Mmm, yeah, I guess you know a little bit from before…" She leaned forward farther, putting her breasts right in front of his face. He took the opportunity to lick and lightly nibble at her nipples, relishing the moans that came forth. Bulma grabbed his face and kissed him enthusiastically, intertwining her tongue with his in a passionate dance.

His hand drifted toward the junction of where she was sitting atop his stomach. He slipped a finger into her, feeling how incredibly hot and moist she was inside. "For someone who was bitching about not getting enough 'preparation', it sure doesn't take much to get you ready," Vegeta said with a chuckle.

"Well, it _has_ been a while since the last time. Such a long wait can greatly shorten the prep time." Bulma backed up, positioning herself directly over his erection. Both of them gasped as she slid downward, inserting him inside herself. She braced herself by placing her hands on his chest and began grinding up and down, back and forth.

He didn't even care that she was dominating him; this felt too amazing. So amazing, in fact, that he knew he wouldn't last long. He tried to prolong it as long as he could, but didn't even last thirty seconds. "Shit," he muttered under his breath, hoping she wouldn't realize it right away.

Bulma kept grinding away a bit longer, but soon noticed that he was no longer hard. "What the hell…did you just…?" She smacked him on the chest. "You bastard! You can't just finish by yourself like that."

"Sorry," he mumbled almost inaudibly. _It's your fault for being so damn good at this._ He chose to keep that accusatory compliment to himself.

"You'd better hope you've got another one in you. I am _not_ going unsatisfied tonight." She leaned down to take his flaccid member into her mouth, lightly stroking him with one hand as her head bobbed up and down. It didn't take long for him to not only be fully erect again, but also feel like she could easily make him come again if she continued. Luckily, Bulma knew when to stop. "Hmm, looks like you Saiyans recover quickly both on the battlefield _and_ in the bedroom. Good to know."

Vegeta arose from his prone position, lightly pushing her onto her back and hovering over her as he poised himself to enter her. Bulma made a face. "I don't know, missionary is such a _boring_ position for such a special day. You need to learn new positions for your training, so let's try something else." She rolled onto her stomach, then pushed herself up onto her hands and knees. "Let's do it like animals."

His face reddened once again. Her lewd talk was uncomfortable to listen to. Plus, how was he supposed to see what he was doing with her round, perky ass dancing around in front of him? He grabbed her hips to keep her still and carefully pushed himself against her, hoping he would find where he was supposed to go without too much aimless poking.

Bulma squealed. "Whoa, watch what hole you're aiming for there! We're not getting into any of the really kinky stuff… _yet_."

"Shut… _up!_ " He adjusted his aim lower and slid inside her, finally finding the opening he'd been looking for.

"Don't tell me to…ah!"

"Shut up, shut up, shut up," he repeated with each thrust. Bulma seemed like she wanted to protest, but only managed lustful moans that spurred him to continue grinding his hips ever faster. He reached around to fondle her breasts, savoring the pleasure-filled vocalizations his actions elicited. She leaned her body back and turned her head over her shoulder, pulling his face closer to kiss him. Their hips rocked in time with each other until Bulma was struck by a powerful orgasm, causing her to let out an animalistic shriek and collapse forward on the bed. Vegeta grunted as he pumped into her a few more times before finishing, then rolled to the side to lie next to her. There was silence for a while as both of them tried to catch their breath. _Looks like I've found a surefire way to shut her up whenever she's annoying me,_ Vegeta thought with a smirk.

Bulma turned over and draped an arm across him. "Well, for a beginner I'd say you did pretty good. Though this time was fairly easy since it'd been so long. You'll definitely need more training. I can already think of some lessons I'll need to plan: more positions, techniques, use of toys…"

"Toys?" His raised eyebrow indicated he had no idea that the toys she was referring to were definitely _not_ children's playthings.

Bulma giggled. "Wow. So naïve. I have _so_ much to teach you." She grinned as she snuggled closer to him.

Vegeta put an arm around her, lightly stroking her bare back. Having her as his 'teacher' would undoubtedly lead to conflicts, given both of their generally disagreeable attitudes, but the contentious nature of their relationship was half the fun. It may not be the sort of training he was used to, but it might suffice to keep him from missing the battlefields he had known his entire life. _This is…all right_ , he thought as he drifted off to sleep.

Bulma awoke first the next morning, gazing upon Vegeta's dozing face. His brow was furrowed even in his sleep. _Is he ever_ not _angry?_ Well, she _had_ seen some interesting expressions from him when they were making love; it would remain to be seen if she could pull any pleasant faces from him outside of the bedroom. Their conversations ended in bickering at least half the time, and it was hard to imagine that statistic would change just because they were an actual couple now. Nevertheless, she was determined to make things work with her baby's father.

She grew impatient waiting for him to wake up, so she decided to awaken him with a smooch. Usually in fairytales, it was the prince who was supposed to awaken his lady with a kiss…then again, fairytale princes also typically rode in on a white horse, not came crashing down to earth in a white space pod like hers had. She placed her lips on his, keeping them there for several moments until he finally opened his eyes. He looked slightly alarmed at first, but then relaxed against the pillow. "Good morning," she chimed in a singsong voice.

Vegeta grumbled something unintelligible, but she could see the barest hint of a smile on his lips. He suddenly rolled over on top of her and began kissing her with zeal. She returned the kiss at first, but then broke her lips away as she was distracted by the feeling that she was forgetting something. "Wait…what time is it?"

"Who cares?" Vegeta muttered, moving his lips down to her neck.

She looked around the room for a clock, but found none. "Do you seriously not even have a clock in here? Are you _that_ out of touch with society?"

"What use do I have for time?" Vegeta had always kept to his own personal training schedule, never really caring whether it was night or day.

"Well, it kinda matters today because Trunks is going back to his time. Everyone's coming over to see him off. I think Mama said she wanted to have a big farewell breakfast before he left."

Vegeta could sense the ki of several Z Warriors within Capsule Corporation. She would obviously be too distracted for him to continue what he'd been trying to do, so he might as well tell her. "They're already here."

"Crap." Bulma jumped out of bed. "And how am I supposed to greet everyone wearing _this_?" she picked up the tattered remains of the clothes Vegeta had reduced to scraps of fabric the night before.

The Saiyan prince merely shrugged in response. Bulma growled and ripped the sheet from his bed, wrapping it around her naked body. "I guess I can make it to my room wearing this. Though since everyone's already here, _you_ should use your super speed to get me there faster."

"Fine," he grumbled, becoming irritated at her bossy attitude. He quickly dressed in casual clothes of his own, then stepped out carrying the sheet-clad Bulma, moving swiftly through the hallways until they reached her room.

"Stay out here. I don't want you coming in and trying to seduce me or something."

He couldn't really protest her request, since he had absolutely been planning to do exactly what she was accusing him of.

She emerged a few minutes later. "All right, let's go."

Vegeta sped to the entrance to the dining area, set Bulma down and turned around leave. "Where do you think you're going?"

"I'm sure your friends don't want me hanging around while they share fond memories of their good friend Kakarrot." Never mind that he didn't feel his presence would be welcome, but he was uncomfortable with the idea of hanging out in such a social environment.

"We're a _family_ now, remember? I know you're not used to stuff like this, but it would mean a lot if you'd join me." She grabbed his hand. "Please?"

He declined to respond, so Bulma took his lack of protest as agreement and pulled him through the door. "Good morning, guys! Sorry we're late."

Vegeta could see stunned expressions on many of the guests' faces, and his own face became flushed as he realized how incredibly obvious it must be what had happened between Bulma and him. Arriving together—late, no less—and holding hands? They were practically announcing 'we totally had sex last night!' to everyone. His instincts urged him to flee, but Bulma gripped his hand even tighter.

They walked over to the table, where there were two empty chairs between Trunks and Yamcha. "Go ahead and sit down, I'll be right back."

Vegeta took the seat next to his future son, feeling like the eyes of everyone at the table were on him. "W-what are you staring at?" he sputtered in a manner that he intended to sound threatening, but came out quite weakly. Still, it caused most of the guests to go back to eating and chatting as they had been before.

Yamcha leaned over the empty chair between them and chuckled. "I don't blame you for sleeping in. She can be quite a handful," he whispered.

Vegeta's ears turned red. "Shut up." He began shoveling food in his mouth, both because he was starving, and so he wouldn't have to talk to anyone.

Bulma soon reentered the room, cradling baby Trunks in her arms. She took the empty place at the table between her past and current lovers. She glanced at Yamcha, shooting him a grateful smile. "Thanks again for your help," she said quietly.

"No problem." She was beaming so brightly he couldn't help but smile back. Seeing how happy she was, and that Vegeta was looking about as sullen as usual but with less anger in his eyes, he was glad that he had chosen to help them. A part inside of him hurt knowing that he had unquestionably lost her for good, but at least he could start their new bond of friendship knowing he'd helped guide her to the start of a new path to happiness. He could finally let go of his feelings for her with no regrets.

Baby Trunks made small cooing sounds as Bulma balanced him on her lap while she ate. She had said she wanted the three of them to be a family together, but Vegeta honestly had no idea how to bond with a baby, especially one that screamed and cried every time he looked at him. Spending time with the older Trunks had made him feel more attached to the child than he had before, but attempting to raise him together with Bulma would be a major undertaking.

He glimpsed sideways and noticed that the baby was staring right at him. He caught his gaze and waited for the bawling to begin. Instead, the infant surprised him by smiling and giggling.

Bulma didn't let the moment escape her notice. "See what happens when you don't look at your baby like you want to murder him?" She lifted Trunks above her head, bouncing him up and down playfully. "See, your Papa's not as bad as he wants everyone to think he is."

She was drawing far too much attention for Vegeta's liking. Luckily, Bulma's mother entered from the kitchen, taking the focus away from them. "Got some more food for everyone!" After setting a tray down on the table, she walked over to where Vegeta and Bulma were sitting. "Now, have you picked a date yet? I was trying to think of a color scheme, but then I thought the colors should be tied to the season. Like pastels for the springtime, or rich colors for fall. Ooh, if it's gonna be in the summer, we should definitely have the ceremony outside!"

"Ceremony?" Vegeta shot a puzzled look at Bulma, whose face was turning red.

"Mama…please…stop."

"I guess we'll have to wait to pick out flowers since we don't know your colors yet. But we can talk about cake flavors. Definitely gotta have chocolate, but what kind of filling? Something fruity would be good, maybe raspberry or lemon."

"What is she talking about?" Vegeta asked slowly and suspiciously.

Her mother overheard the question. "Your wedding, of course!"

So much for keeping the focus off themselves. Every astonished eye in the room was now on Vegeta and Bulma.

Bulma had been seething with anger, and finally exploded. "Don't go planning other people's weddings without their permission! I never said anything about getting married!"

"Aww, but little Trunks will be so sad if you don't. Won't you, darling?" Though she was referencing baby Trunks, she was addressing the one from the future, assuming he would speak for his younger self.

"I…uh…no comment." The tension in the room broke as everyone started laughing.

"I'm sorry, I swear I didn't put her up to this," Bulma said softly, knowing he must be mortified by this situation.

Vegeta nodded. He had lived at Capsule Corporation long enough to know all about Bulma's mother's meddlesome personality.

"I'm sure she'll keep trying to pressure us, 'cause that's just the way she is. But all that matters is what _we_ decide. Together." She placed her hand on top of his.

He glanced her away and allowed a tender smile to flash across his face for just a moment. It lasted barely long enough for her to catch it, but she returned it gratefully. Her mother was clearly getting way ahead of herself by starting to plan a wedding, but Bulma couldn't get too mad at her. It was too early to tell for sure, but it certainly wasn't impossible that they would end up getting married.

_Not yet…but maybe someday._

After completing breakfast, everyone went out to the yard to bid farewell to Trunks. He said his goodbyes to everyone, including a silent exchange of hand signals with his father. He took off in his time machine, heading back to a much bleaker time than the one he was leaving, but with hope in his heart that he could make a difference.

"Mom, I'm home!" Trunks greeted Bulma as he arrived at Capsule Corporation, a markedly more dilapidated version of the very same building he had just departed from. Hopefully once the Artificial Humans were done away with, it could be restored to its former glory, along with the rest of the cities that had been destroyed.

He told Bulma about everything he had experienced in the past, starting from the increased number of Artificial Humans, all the way to their eventual hard-won defeat of Cell. When he told her that he saw his father was more than just a cold-hearted man, she seemed slightly surprised, but wasn't too fazed by it. He figured the next piece of news he told her might be a bit more shocking, though.

"Speaking of Dad, it seems like he and young Mom ended up getting back together."

Bulma looked dumbfounded. "W-whaaaat?!"

"Yeah, I don't know the details, but Yamcha said she needed some proof that he cared about us, and when she heard that he freaked out over my death, she finally knew that we mattered to him."

Pretty much everything he said was a stunning reversal of the history she knew. "Wait, _Yamcha_ was involved with it? We were on such bad terms after we broke up, I barely ever talked to him after that."

"It seems like the past versions made up and became friends."

 _Huh. Maybe he wasn't such a bad guy after all._ She pushed thoughts of Yamcha aside to focus on the more interesting revelation Trunks had made. "So what happened with young me and Vegeta? Are you _sure_ they got back together?"

"Last night, I was walking to my room and saw them hugging each other out on the balcony. And this morning…" Trunks blushed, not feeling too comfortable telling his mother about her past self seemingly not caring that everyone could tell that the two of them had spent the night together. "They came to breakfast together. And it was…pretty clear that they didn't just coincidentally meet up and arrive at the same time."

A broadcast came on detailing the recent exploits of #17 and #18, and Trunks was almost relieved, feeling he would rather have a life-or-death battle than continue this awkward conversation with his mother. He headed off, assuring her that he would win this time, leaving Bulma to ponder the shocking revelations her son had made about the altered past.

"So she made up with Yamcha _and_ got back together with Vegeta. Feels weird to be jealous of _myself_ …" She lit a cigarette and took a few puffs. Bulma had always wondered what might have happened if Vegeta had lived. Unfortunately, she hadn't realized how much she cared for him until after he was dead, and she'd regretted never getting the chance to try to work things out with him. Until now, she'd had no idea if he would have reciprocated her feelings. Even if she couldn't have him in her own life, at least there was a time and place where the two of them could be happy together.

Bulma smiled wistfully. "I guess it turned out to be more than just a miscalculation, after all."

_THE END_

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

Author's notes: I…DID…IT. This month marks the seven-year anniversary of when I finally got around to starting this fic, at which point it had already been in my mind for several years. So more than a dozen years after the first ideas for this story started dancing around in my head, I've finally got them all out there! It's a relief, and an accomplishment, but also sad. I've had fun and frustrations along the way, and as usual it turned out to be a highly idealized headcanon version of events that probably gives too much credit to the characters (maybe Vegeta's a bit soft in the end…but I love hiiiiiim 3).

On the other hand, I really wanted to give _some_ credit to a character who's often raked across the coals by VegeBul fans: Yamcha. I actually like him, and always hated how most fics I'd read in the past portrayed him as a guy who eats puppies and rapes babies (or was it the other way around? :P) It seemed that later in the series he and Bulma were friends, so I decided to explore how that dynamic came about. Sometimes, that side story dominated more than I originally intended, even further screwing up my already terrible chapter planning skills (I'm sure I mentioned it before, but I originally imagined this fanfic would be four chapters long…yeeeeah). I'm fucking tired of that meme, but this chapter is literally over 9,000 words long -_-;;

So what's next for me? I have vague plans for a Tenjou Tenge fanfic, but knowing me, it could take years before I actually get around to writing it. After taking seven years to write one damn story, I feel like doing a different medium of fan work, like making AMVs. As always, I've babbled on for too long, so I'll just end by saying thank you to everyone who read this, whether you're a lucky bastard who just started reading recently, or a poor bastard who's been putting up with my slow updates the entire time. You're ALL number one ^_^


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